


Adventure Awaits

by SaveMe1800



Category: Day6 (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Amusement Parks, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Older Woman/Younger Man, Post-Divorce, References to Depression, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 46,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaveMe1800/pseuds/SaveMe1800
Summary: Alice, still struggling with her divorce, impulsively applies and accepts a job in South Korea where she knows neither the language nor the proper protocols. Alice is suddenly faced with challenges she never thought she'd have to deal with, with people she never expected to meet. Through friendship and possibly love, Alice soon discovers life in the spot life- isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Original Female Character(s), Kang Younghyun | Young K/Original Female Character(s), Kim Namjoon | RM/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 9





	1. Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Story takes place in late winter/early spring of 2025.

**August 2024**

Alice Walton sat at her dining room table, her head buried in her hands as her laptop quietly hummed in front of her. She felt a tear slip through her fingers falling silently on to her silver keyboard. With a deep inhale, she wiped the moisture away tilting her head back to shake the excess water away from her very expensive makeup. A small chirp came from her computer bringing the screen back to its full brightness.

Alice frowned, staring at the notification with one eye as to not blind herself.

`Skype`

`1 Message`

`Kim Dain`

She quickly tapped her face dry expecting a video call any moment. Dain would message her before calling just to give her a heads up. Alice grabbed her phone, touching the camera function quickly to inspect her makeup. It was...adequate. She should really apply her lipstick but the familiar sound of a dial tone reminded her she ran out of time.

She fixed her hair but shoving it into her usual messy ponytail before tapping the accept button on her screen.

It blinked a few times before adjusting to her friend oceans away.

"Hello!" Dain waved both hands to the camera with a huge grin. Her long black hair swept to the side of her thin frame. Alice cracked a smile, waving back at her webcam.

"Hey stranger, how are you? Isn't it like 3am in Korea right now? What are you doing awake?"

Dain shrugged, looking down at her silver watch on her left wrist to verify the time.

"It's 4am actually but I'm leaving for work soon and I hadn't heard back from you about your decision yet so I thought I'd try calling you! Lucky you answered. Have you thought more about the job yet?" Dain crossed her arms, leaning towards the computer clearly invested in Alice's response.

Alice sighed, biting her lip out of habit, nodding slightly.

"I have. I've sent my formal acceptance letter an hour ago. When I get the official paperwork, I'll need your help." She gave a small smile to show she was actually excited about this adventure.

Dain clapped her hands together, grinning widely. 

"That's fantastic! Do you have a rough idea when they'd want you?"

"We had previously spoken about coming after the New Year, but I'll know more by the end of the day once they've received my information. I'd like to stay until then if possible, but it's not like I have anything holding me here anymore."

Dain's smile slowly fell into a soft frown. She arched her eyebrows in concern, tilting her head.

"This is good Alice. This is a good thing for you. You need this change."

Alice nods, giving a foreign smile; making sure to make the smile reach her eyes.

"I know; I'm just nervous- I mean I don't know the language or the culture. I'm just a middle age white divorced woman."

Dain instantly shakes her head, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"First: you're thirty-three, you aren't considered middle age anymore. You are still young, especially by our standards. Second: I'm a woman in my thirties who is also a divorcee. It doesn't define you. Lotte World wanted you knowing all of those things. You've worked so hard to get where you are, don't let anything hold you back now." Dain gives an encouraging smile, leaning towards the camera to show her sincerity.

Alice folds her hands on the table, resting her head on her hand as she stares back at her friend.

"Thank you. I wouldn't be doing any of this without you. I'm so thankful to have a friend like you. Are you sure you're ok with moving in together?"

"Of course, this place sucks honestly. When you find out your start date, let me know as soon as you can so I can start looking for better places. I will only need a month to get out of this place, but the sooner we can start looking the better."

"It'll be at least two months, that's how long it's going to take to get my visa and employment verifications done." Alice sighs looking down at her dusty keyboard. The paperwork would be rough; she hadn't decided if she was changing her name back yet.

"That works! I'll call my realtor and see about getting some locations to check out. I have to go, wanna skype next Friday and catch back up?"

Alice looks back at the computer, nodding at her friend. She smiled as wide as she could manage and blew a kiss for effect. Dain giggled, pretending to catch the kiss and plant it on her cheek before sending one in Alice's direction.

"No problem, have a good week! Call me if you need me," Alice waved until she heard the pop of the call disconnecting. She hung her head down, releasing a heavy sigh she had been holding.

She was excited about the change, knowing it was necessary. However, she was moving halfway across the globe a year after her divorce and less than that since she had finally achieved a huge career win. When things started to go south in her relationship, she became obsessed with her job which created an even bigger divide in her marriage. While there had been many factors that led them to ending, Alice's desire for more was what resulted in her applying to all these international theme parks. That had been her retirement plan, but with no husband or children to speak of, she decided to take the risk and hope it was worth the reward. Thankfully she wasn't alone. Her role in American theme parks such as Walt Disney World Resort allowed her the chance to meet and bond with those who would eventually become her lifeline in these foreign countries. It had been a good eight months since the ink had dried that she found herself on her couch drinking wine while chatting with Dain about her idea to travel. Dain also worked for Lotte World, but she was in the resort side not the actual theme park. Dain recommended Alice apply for a Head of Operations spot that had just recently opened and through the influence of alcohol, Alice applied. Two weeks later, an invitation for an interview sat in her inbox. Two months later and Alice sat at this table talking about moving to South Korea.

Alice ran her hand through her hair, flipping her blonde locks to the side as she adjusted her glasses. She needed to break the news to her parents that she had made her decision. In a way, it felt like she was running away and she knew her mother would point that out. She wasn't wrong, Alice needed an out she could afford and succeed in. She would hate missing her goddaughter growing up, but maybe her brother would come visit. She knew her family wouldn't be able to afford the trips or have an interest in visiting so she would be safe from the random drop bys she had to look forward to in Orlando.

Standing up, stretching her legs and arms she decided that phone call to her parents could wait until the morning. She would rather sleep than have to think about her past life anymore.


	2. The Journey Less Traveled

Five months later and Alice was ready to say goodbye to her old life. After breaking the news to her family she was relocating overseas, she had a very difficult holiday season. On top of still having to work at one of **the** busiest places on earth, she had to deal with parents who gave her the guilt trip of a lifetime. Her mother took it especially hard. It was always clear to Alice that her mother favored her ex-husband over her and she had zero doubts that her mom still spoke with him even though they have no business doing so.

Her friends knew it was exactly what she needed in order to move on. They threw parties for her both at work and home to celebrate her achievements and Alice began the New Year with a new perceptive.

That was until her plane touched down in Seoul after a fourteen hour flight. Suddenly all the fear and anguish she neglected to feel came rushing to her head.

She had booked her flight to Seoul first class as it was something she only ever expected to do once in her life and she might as well treat herself. With first class, she was given special service to customs and she didn't even have to pick up her own luggage; it would be brought to her while she waited in a lounge.

At first glance, she felt wholeheartedly under dressed and out of place in the lounge. With such a long flight and only her best friend seeing her, she chose comfort over the usual business casual she always ended up with. Her skin tight off color blue jeans and one of her favorite KAWS T-shirts from a limited collection years ago was always her go to lounge outfit. One glance around this lounge and she knew the term meant something entirely different.

After the young lady who had escorted her to the lounge explained the customs and luggage procedures, Alice reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. She pulled up Dain's contact and pushed the call button instantly hearing the dial tone.

"My beautiful American snowflake! Are you here?" Dain exclaimed, shocking Alice slightly.

"American snowflake? That's new. Anyway, I'm here in the lounge, the attendants said it will only take 15 minutes for my luggage and I just have to meet with the customs agent and I'll be out. Where are you parked, how do I get there?"

"Perfect! No need, I'll come get you. I already parked the car; I'll see you in a minute. Lounge access is a corporate perk."

Alice frowned as she down at her phone, her friend having already hung up on her. Shaking her head slightly, she glanced around. Men and woman dressed in suits and ties sat in booths connected to their laptops or phones, completely unaware of the world around him.

They look like competitive gamers, Alice thought. She had barely a moment to make her way towards a waitress holding what looked like glasses of juice before she heard a small, yet powerful squeal. Instantly knowing that was her friend, she turned around and immediately grinned in excitement. Dain was wearing a large brown sweater that went to her knees with long black boots that reached just under her kneecaps. Her long black hair swept to one side with a brown knit cap slanted to the left. She looked like a genuine model, aging like wine. She stomped her feet in excitement, gathering the attention of the crowd next to her as she rushed towards Alice. She launched herself towards Alice, gripping her friend in a vice like hug.

"I have missed you so much! I am so glad you are here!!" She pulled back slightly, only to go right back to the tight embrace.

"I have missed you too! You look beautiful, are you sure you work in hotels and not as a model! I mean holy crap! I'd kill to have your legs and your skin! How do you do that!?" Alice exclaimed as she pulled back, grabbing Dain's hands as she looked her over properly. She giggled, bouncing on her heels and she waved a hand towards Alice.

"Are you kidding? You are the model! You are the perfect hourglass! Maybe I don't want you to meet Jae!" Dain jested, her giant grin reaching her eyes.

"Oh hush! I could never date anyone who has a fan club; I'm way too mature for that!"

"Yah! Like you would pass up Lee Min Ho or Jung Yong Hwa!"

"How on earth do you remember that? I haven't thought of those two hotties in literally years. Thanks for that." Alice bit her lip, gazing at the ceiling dramatically as she thought of her crush years ago.

Dain giggled, looking around the room. "Here, let's get champagne to toast our reunion and your new adventure!" She pulled Alice to the bar across the room. A few businessmen were hunched over on the bar top, asleep or passed out Alice wasn't sure. A young man, who barely looked legal, approached the ladies, with an idol worthy smile complete with dimples, grinned at them as they approached.

"Welcome, what can I get for you?" His accent is thick, but Alice is grateful she communicates freely. The language barrier hasn't been critical yet, but she is well aware she needs to start putting all her attention into learning the language. She was grateful Lotte was paying for her to have a tutor and that was set to start in a week, so she wouldn't have to suffer long.

"Two glasses of champagne please," Dain smiles holding two fingers up. The bartender smirks, nodding with a slight bow before pulling two sleek flutes from a lower shelf.

"Is it ok if Jae is already at our place? He doesn't live far from us and he's setting up our dining room table right now but I can kick him out if you want to be alone," Dain questions, turning on her heels to face Alice. Alice nods instantly, moving a piece of her hair out of her face.

"Of course, I'm so excited to meet this man you've told me nothing about."

"Well he's an interesting guy and it can be kinda intense sometimes. He's sorta well known."

"What do you mean? Like politician known or like actor known; there's a difference."

Dain bites her lip, tilting her head to the side with a sigh. "Well, idol like known."

"Here you are ladies. I hope you enjoy your time here in Seoul." The bartender set the flutes down, expertly placing them in front of each woman. Alice reaches for her purse to dig out her wallet for a tip, but Dain places her hand over hers and shakes her head.

"No tipping, you just need to say thank you. It's also free so that helps."

Alice nods, retracting her hand from her purse and pulling at the flute of bubbly in front of her. She brought it to her nose, inhaling the crisp smell and smiling before the last comment Dain made hit her.

"Wait, idol? Like an idol idol or what?"

"Toast first. To Alice for taking this giant step and a huge leap of faith in herself. Congratulations on becoming Head of Operations and having the chance to follow your dream. May this adventure lead to you happiness, wealth, and ultimately love. I love you girl." Dain waves her hand, bringing her glass to the center air in between them. Alice beamed, matching her glass to Dain's and clinking it softly.

"And to Dain for encouraging me and telling me about the position in the first place."

"Welcome to South Korea!"


	3. Home

"Ok but about this idol boyfriend," Alice finishes her glass setting it down and turning her full attention to her best friend.

"He was popular awhile back, I might have mentioned it once or twice- I don't know. He's American though."

"But like, that's his job? He's an idol?"

"Well, yeah. He's still with his group and they do a bunch still. He's mostly on the internet though," Dain waved her hand, setting her glass down as turned back to Alice. She reached over, taking Alice's hands into hers and gave a small shake. "Can we talk about him in a minute? It's been four years since we've seen each other and I've missed the hell out of you. I've missed spending hours talking about dramas, music and food. I can't wait to take you to those dessert buffets I was telling about all those years ago. I have so many things I have to show you."

"Pardon me, your luggage is ready." A soft voice interrupted the ladies. A young woman, her head bowed slightly stood opposite of Alice. Alice-alarmed at the bow, went to stand and mimic the action when Dain held her hand out to stop her from bowing too far. The young lady kept her head down for an extra moment and then slowly lifted her head. Dain stood up, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder and nodded to Alice.

"Thank you, will you show us the way? Come on Alice, let's go home!" 

It took nearly an hour and a half for Dain and Alice to finally make it to their new home and by the time they reached the entrance, Alice was certain Dain had been hiding something.

"We're just up ahead," Dain pointed to a cluster of large white buildings hidden behind tall grey stone walls. Alice frowned; this place looked incredibly expensive- how could they afford something as high class as this? Dain veered to the car to the left, turning into a guided pathway before a security booth. Dain quickly rolled her window down, flashed her ID and what looked like a laminated pass before the guard waved her through, pressing a button resulting in the long metal barrier to lift.

"You're kidding me, right?" Alice choked out, staring at the white stone buildings and a large sign that read _Welcome to Hannam Hill._

"About what? This is our complex, we're not too far-four more buildings down." Dain pointed to the building further on her right as she slowed to a stop sign.

"I'm not an idiot Dain, I know what Hannam Hill is. There is absolutely **no way** we could afford this. This is for like CEO's and royalty. Is this where your boyfriend lives? Are we running by his place first?" Alice reasoned, that being the only logical reason why Dain had brought her to a multimillion dollar apartment complex.

"Ha! He's nowhere near that successful. He lives near here, but not here- no."

"You aren't answering my question."

"We got a good deal, don't worry." Dain flashed a smile, only to meet Alice's cold stare.

"I **will** kill you, Dain."

"Always with the violence," Dain rolled her eyes, accelerating to the stop sign before pulling into the building she had pointed at. There was a deep slope that cut just after the sidewalk, allowing for parking underneath the actual building. Dain pulled the car down a few empty spots before whipping the car slowly into a spot with a sign above it stating 542. Dain took a deep breath before turning the car off to face Alice. "Look, my family is in real estate but most recently they bought an entertainment subsistery and over the past 20 years they've become quite successful. My brother is head of the music department and was recently living in our new apartment but a new penthouse became available so he bought that. Instead of selling his old one, he is renting it to us at half the cost. It's reasonable and it's only logical that we take advantage of it. We're 20 minutes from work and 15 if we drive. Plus this place is ridiculously awesome."

Alice sighed, biting her lip as she looked around the parking lot. There had only been a few cars in spots, those cars costing more than Alice made in a year-maybe two. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for this place, she just really hated feeling like she might owe someone something. She shook her head and sighed.

"How did I end up in a drama? At what turn in my life did that happen?"

Dain chuckled, opening her door and heading to the trunk.

They each grabbed what they could before heading to the elevator to their new apartment. Dain explained there were two apartments per floor so thankfully the elevator didn't open up just to the home. The only floor that was pure apartment was the penthouse which required a separate pass and keycode just to open. The elevator responded to either a keycode or a pass, both of which Dain provided Alice as they stood waiting for their floor. In what seemed like seconds, they had reached the 5th floor with a ding, the solid silver doors opening with a hiss. Dain escorted Alice to the grand door on the left.

"There's both a key and a code, security is super tight here so just don't forget to input the code before you turn the key otherwise security gets notified and we get an unexpected visit." Dain explained while she did both then quickly pushing the door open.

"Is there an instruction packet with this place...and can it be in English?"

"You are asking a lot there, snowflake." Dain laughed carrying Alice's bags inside.

"Is that my beautiful girlfriend? It's been 84 years since I've seen you and all I've been doing is slaving away for her to have beautiful home I don't even live in."

Alice immediately looked at Dain with wide eyes. She recognized that voice. The voice came shuffling towards them, giving Alice zero time to scold Dain on once again leaving out an important detail. A tall but muscular man with a wide grin and pearls for teeth approached Dain without regard to Alice. His long black jeans that hugged his thighs in an unforgiving way, draped in a baggy sweatshirt that went well passed his hips- he was without a doubt a carbon copy of how he appeared on the shows Alice used to frequently watch. The caramel kissed skin peaked through when he enveloped Dain in a massive full body hug. He dipped his head into Dain's shoulders, a messy chocolate and vanilla mix of hair resting on her collarbone.

"Jae, can you not? I was gone for three hours not three days. You're making a terrible first impression to Alice." Dain lightly shoved her boyfriend away, the latter returning a small pout. Her boyfriend turned to Alice and she knew she would need all her professional training to restrict her first reaction. He grinned, his promaniate jawline presenting itself as if it was on stage. He took two steps to stand in front of the still shocked and frozen Alice, he adjusted his thick black rimmed glasses before reaching out a hand to her.

"Hello! It's so great to finally meet you, Dain talks about you a bunch. I'm Jae Hyung," He smiles softer- deciding his full grin could come off too strongly.

Alice gives a hesitant smile in return, summoning all her courage to lift her arm and shake his hand. Internally, she felt a million explosions occurring and she desperately hoped it wasn't visible- she had the worst poker face.

"Hello, I'm Alice. You'll have to forgive me- Dain does talk about you a lot however she failed to mention some key details." She felt that was as rational as she could get. This way if she fumbled or stuttered too much, it could be covered by her being caught off guard which she really was.

"Oh? Like what?" Jae asked, removing his hand to run it through his mop of hair. He gave a coy smile that let Alice know he just wanted to hear she was a fan.

Alice looked over at Dain with a sigh, seeing how her friend was not going to help her in any way as she had started moving past the foyer and down the hallway. Jae smile moved to a smirk as he picked up Alice's suitcases while she adjusted her bags.

"Like you're in a band she knows I listen to, she practically introduced me into k-pop and k-rock." Alice resigned, deciding she was just going to have accept that she's a fan in front of an idol.


	4. Hannam in the Hell did I Get Here?

The idol rounded the corner, stopping into a large kitchen full of stainless steel appliances and deep brown wooden floors. The color contrast between the appliances, the ivory painted walls, and the particular shade of flooring created a soft modern glow. The room was panelled with glass walls that presented the beautiful sunset on its backside, a brightly lit hallway laid on its right and another opening directly across from the hallway. Alice took a moment to adjust to the surroundings, perplexed she looked for Dain.

"You know who I am?" Jae asked excitedly, pointing down the hallway and continuing in that direction. Alice assumed he was directing her to her room, so she absentmindedly followed.

"I'm a big fan of Day6, yes. I'll admit it's been awhile since I've had the time to properly enjoy the music; but living in Korea now maybe I'll have a better chance."

Jae stopped at an elaborately carved wooden door, gracefully opening it to Alice. She smiled before stepping passed him inside. She froze when she entered, this couldn't be the right room.

"Is this Dain's room?" She turned to ask as Jae rolled her suitcase in. He shook his head, setting the suitcase against a king size platform bed.

"Nope, this is the second master bedroom. There's a patio that connects to your room and the guest room over there," He points to the right side with a sliding glass door. "Your bathroom is over there-Dain stocked it with essentials since it's more practical than shipping so you don't have to worry about towels or anything. I was in the middle of making dinner for all of us, it'll be able 30 more minutes so you have time to relax and settled beforehand. I'll send Dain to get you when it's ready if that's cool. Oh! We are definitely talking more about my band during dinner!" He smiled, shooting me a pointed look as he walked towards the hallway before stopping once more. "One more thing. You aren't a vegetarian are you? I'm making beef."

Alice shook her head, still trying to process everything that has occured in the past 20 minutes. Jae nodded, noticing her lack of attention and went back towards the kitchen. Alice approached the bed slowly- she loved platform beds and she especially loved how much room she'd have all to herself. The thought struck her, causing her to frown. She inhaled deeply, deciding to have her sad moment later- she needed to be cognitive of her surroundings and appreciate everything Dain has been able to do for her. She set her purse and bags down on the bed, deciding the bathroom would be first inspection. She walked to the small door opposite of the bed, lightly pushing it forward to reveal black tiles and gray marble floors. Alice, shocked with the dark interior smiled as she entered the room. A long slate gray countertop, with a marble sink embedded into its features stood at hip level, a small cushion stool sat directly underneath the sink. Dain must have assumed Alice would want to sit while doing her makeup and skincare routine. On her left stood a grand glass door with a small knob on the edge. The door opened into a standing shower portion but beyond that was a deep basin, perfect for long relaxing baths. Directly across from the head of the tub was a TV encased into the wall, Alice gapped at the sight.

"Holy crap, I'll never be good enough for this place," she whispered to herself. She went to further inspect her room when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. "Yikes, I can't believe I just meet Jae from Day6 looking like this. Magical." She tucked her loose strands of hair away, her signature ponytail set off to the side as she leaned forward to wipe most of her eyeliner off having not survived the journey. After a quick once over, she felt satisfied with her appearance and went back to inspecting her new room.

It was empty, with a sliding door next to the bathroom for a large closet, but nothing else remained in the room other than the bed. Alice thought of how she was going to decorate the room, this was as big of a space as her hold living room so she had no idea how she'd fill it with anything other than her massive book collection. She walked over to the patio, turning the latch on the bottom of the knob and sliding the door open. It was a spacious wooden deck overlooking a lush green meadow, dotted with lamps throughout the distance. She heard the faint sound of traffic, a small thumping of music and the tiny squeals of children's laughter as she approached the edge. She leaned against the wooden railing, inhaling the cool air. The fact she moved to a country she had never visited before finally hit her, but instead of fear she felt a strong sense of courage. She was a ready for the challenges she knew she'd face. She was more than prepared to fall on her face trying to learn the language, hopefully Dain was a good teacher. With a grin, she turned back to her room to change into something more comfortable.

Opting for shorts instead of her jeans, she made her way down the hallway expecting to see Jae cooking. Strange. He wasn't there. Maybe he was further down. Alice proceeded down the other hallway expecting it to be another bedroom but instead- it opened up into a massive dining room. An elegantly set dining table-complete with eight chairs- dressed the room with its rich dark wood, decorated with soft cream plates and settings. Another glass wall with a seperate patio broke off to the side, although it did not appear someone could reach the patio through the room itself. The room divided further, revealing yet another kitchen-this time Jae was cooking in it. Dain stood off to the side of him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he stirred his pot. Alice took in the cabinets, all made of a honey colored marble with sleek edges for doors. She really felt out of place.

"There are **two** kitchens?" She chose to ask first, seeing as it was the most obviously ridiculous thing she observed. Dain looked up from Jae, retracting her hand and she came over to Alice with a grin.

"Well one is the master kitchen, the other one just has a few things. Come here, let me show you around." She reached towards Alice's hand, pulling her past a very focused Jae. She branched off to the side, revealing a narrow room with two machines. "Here is the laundry room, we have a our on machines but at the end is a spot for the more delicate materials so you can hand wash. There is storage on the backside as well, if we run out of space for your books or movies." Dain drags Alice back into the dinning room and down a set of stairs Alice hadn't even noticed. "And this is the living room. We have everything you could want for entertainment, streaming-wise as well as analog if you want. We have our terrace right here, we can have BBQs and outdoor get togethers with this space."

"We really can't afford this place..." Alice muttered under her breath.

"We CAN, I promise. It's the same as it would have been at any other apartment complex-I swear. We just have the right hooks up. I need you to be ok with this place. I know its a lot to process, but after everything we've been through-we deserve some form of luxury. Let's enjoy it! Dinner is just about ready, come on!" Dain drags Alice back upstairs before she can say anything else.


	5. A Whole Lotte Time

Over the weekend, Alice battled her jet lag but ultimately lost halfway through Saturday. When she finally woke up late Sunday afternoon, she almost forgot where she was. She had gone to the market with Dain on Saturday to get most of her bedroom set up, complete with proper curtains to shield herself from the early morning.

Gripping the thick blanket closer to her body, she groaned as she rolled over to where her phone was charging. Frowning at the time display of 1647, she rubbed her eyes before unlocking her phone to barge of messages and emails she no doubt had.

_48 Text Messages_

_5 missed calls_

_148 emails_

_95 Twitter updates_

_4 missed FaceTimes_

She really needed to explain the time difference to her friends back in the states. Alice knew most of the emails were from either her new job or her previous one. She was to start at Lotte World on Monday, but she would spend the next three months in training to better understand her role in the company. She would need to go by their headquarters tomorrow to finalize all her immigration and corporate paperwork.

"Alice? You up?" Dain knocked lightly on her door. Grunting, Alice sat up making sure she was mildly presentable before replying.

"Yea, just. You can come in."

Dain pushed the door open, smiling broadly at Alice as she approached her bed.

"Jae and I are going to meet up with some of his friends and go see a movie and have some dinner. I know tomorrow is the big day, but since you don't have to be there before 11, I figured we'd go out, will you join us?" Dain asked, tucking herself next to Alice. Alice ran a hand over her face, gaging how social she was feeling. Deciding it was better to socialize and start making friends would be easier to help her pick up the culture and language, she nodded.

"Sure, what time were you leaving?"

"As soon as you get ready, I'll make you some coffee if you want." Dain asks, leaning over to give Alice a quick hug before getting back up towards the door.

Alice peeled herself from her sheets, stretching as she stood up. "Do you have decaf? I don't want to be up all night and look like toast tomorrow."

"Of course I have decaf, but you'd never look like toast." Dain smiles, giving a wink as she walked out closing the door behind her.

Alice rolled her eyes as she walked to her closet. She was up until 3am the first night unpacking all her clothes, so thankfully she won't have to dig for something to wear. She was a strong creature of habit, pulling out her favorite jeans and black converse but was left the difficult task of choosing a top. She fingered the tops hanging in her closet, sliding the ones she kept for work to the side before finding one she had bought just before her trip. She smiled at the plain purple top with a scoop neckline that had the word 'FANDOM' written across the center. Pulling it off the hanger, she set it aside to grab her light brown long coat for the constantly changing weather and a black beanie from the top shelf.

Twenty minutes later, Alice deciding to only put half the normal amount of effort on her makeup, grabbed her piano keys Betsey Johnson crossbody clutch and headed towards the kitchen.

"Wonpil and Brian are coming too right?" Dain asks as she double checks her purse for everything before collecting her keys and facing her boyfriend. Jae nods, leaning down to envelope her in a hug against the countertop. Dain giggles, giving him a stern look as she bats at his arms. "Oh and I'm assuming you picked a movie with English subtitles, right?"

"Yes baby, I even made dinner reservations at that place you love."

Dain smiled, giving him a peck on the cheek before turning to see Alice. Dain leans beside her boyfriend to grab a to go coffee mug.

"You look great, smart to bring a jacket-it gets cold at night." Dain says walking over to inspect her friend, handing her the cup. Dain chose high waisted light denim jeans paired with her oversized green sweater and a navy ball cap, just on the off chance Jae and the boys get recognized. Jae was wearing cargo pants with a plain black t-shirt and a grey sweatshirt. He patted his pockets, ensuring he had all his keys and his wallet before walking to the front door, holding it open for the best friends.

"The motion picture awaits us!" Jae proclaimed, locking the door behind Alice as they headed to the elevator.

"So, how does this work? Are you famous enough for me to be concerned or should we be ok in public?" Alice asks as they step into the lift. Jae laughs, scratching the back of his neck looking over at her.

"The worst that will happen is us having to sign autographs or take pictures. Usually when we are out, fans tend to respect our privacy and not approach but every now and then someone will do it anyway. I don't blame them really, if I saw John Mayer at the movie theaters I think I'd try to do the same."

"What about the tabloids? Aren't you worried about your single boy image?" Alice joked, winking at Dain to let her know she was jesting.

"Naw, we aren't that big to have to worry about that. We might have to be more cautious because its more than one of us hanging out, but I don't think we have to worry about that. Plus JYP is a bit more lenient now a days-not that Dain and I can go screaming we're together down the streets, but we aren't punished for dating."

"Sounds complicated, you're a strong woman Dain. I don't think I could handle all that mess," Alice states as they approached Dain's car, taking a sip from the coffee cup. Jae opened Alice's door before climbing into the passenger seat.

"It took some getting used to, I'll be honest. I've been friends with Jae for years before I finally decided to give him a chance. After our first date, he told me he had to take me to the office to fill out paperwork so we could safely date. Gotta give JYP one thing, they really care about their artists. I was more scared to sit in with his managers and lawyers then meeting his mom as his girlfriend. I think knowing him helped the process, I wasn't as scared of the fans or paparazzi as I was messing our friendship up. After my divorce, Jae really helped me relearn the meaning of fun and who I was as a person, rather than being someone's ex-wife." Dain said, reaching over to hold Jae's hand with a soft smile. Jae looked up from his phone and gave a toothy smile.

"Love you," He said kissing her hand. Alice nodded, considering the struggles Dain would have had to go through for everything to have happened to bring them together.

"Guess it was worth it, huh?" She asked, catching Dain's eye in the rearview mirror.

"Sometimes, you never know. Korea is a small place, you might find someone to melt that heart and give you a better nickname other than Ice Queen."

Alice scuffed at the idea, shaking her head at the nickname. "How the hell did you hear about that name?"

Dain gives a small sinister grin, "You act like you were my only friend back in the states who worked together. I kept up with quite a few others who followed your career."

"Well damn, I was hoping to get a clean slate here-guess I gotta find another country; bye!" She waves a hand and reaches for the door. Dain laughs, instantly pressing the door lock button to trap her friend in the moving car.

"Nope, you can't leave. You are forever stuck with me."

"Dain! You act like I would ever leave you. But really, can we not spread that name around. I think being a single white female who doesn't speak a word of Korean will be hard enough, I don't need silly names passing through the office about me."

Dain softened, raising her eyebrows in concern and letting out a sigh.

"You're right, this won't be easy; but we are going to focus on fun today and see all of what our amazing company has to offer!" Dain points to the towering glass buildings on her right.

"Holy shit, what is this?" She exclaims, taking in the large tower she knew belonged to her new company, but the surrounding buildings were just as grand. Several buildings curving into a circular structure shaped a web around the tower. Alice only had a moment to appreciate the architure before Dain was pulling into a narrow underground parking lot splitting the roads.

"That's Lotte World Mall with the tower, the hotel; everything. We are not too far from the park either. I figured we could do that tomorrow after you get set up and everything. Depending on how late we end up staying out, we can explore the mall and resort too. I think our movie is in an hour, right Jae?"

"Yep, Brian and Wonpil got our tickets so we get the snacks!"

Ten minutes later and the trio was walking up a flight of stairs to the level with the cinema. Dain and Jae ran slightly ahead of Alice, as she was once again distracted by the absolute grandeur of the mall.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, this is so extra and fantastic," She mumbled, staring at the columns of white marble upholding a sleek screen displaying some random movie below thick red letters: **Lotte Cinema.** Disney had nothing on the theming and the cleanliness that this place represented. Alice could easily get carried away staring at the details until she noticed Dain and Jae were disappearing up an escalator to the second level of the theater. Alice quickly caught up, she would not do well getting lost. The language barrier alone would make things difficult, let alone not knowing which movie she was even seeing.

Dain and Jae came to a stop in front of two taller men, both wearing dark jeans, jackets and ball caps. Alice finished the coffee and tossed the paper cup into a bin as she nervously approached. She knew these were the other band members and her anxiety would get the better of her if she hesitated.

"This is Alice, she's my new roommate. This is Brian and Wonpil; Jae's bandmates." Dain introduced pointing to each member. Brian was the first to reach a hand out, his nose and mouth covered with a black mask. Alice could tell he was smiling by the crinkles near his eyes as she took his hand.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you! Dain has told us so much about you; it feels like we've known each other for months." Brian exclaimed taking her hand firm in his before releasing it. Alice isn't surprised Dian has mentioned her before, although she couldn't say Dain had done the same about him. Alice knew it was an oversight, albeit a big one, but she couldn't blame Dain for not talking about her friends when they would. Alice took a moment to appreciate the man before her, his dark hair swooped back slightly and charcoal deep eyes shining back at her. Alice grinned, once again pushing her nerves back down and she politely gave a small bow, nodding her head gently.

"Great to meet you as well."

Wonpil reached out next, his thin frame more obvious now as he faced Alice directly. His translucent pale fingers reaching out to grasp Alice's with a faint amount of pressure. She first noticed his eyes, a thick rich chocolate color contrast between his pupil and iris, then it was the deep creases of a grin sitting underneath his eyes.

"Annyeonghaseyo," he said softly before giving a bow. Alice, afraid she missed a social cue, returned the bow nervously. Wonpil stood up, giving a tiny chuckle as he ran his hand through his hair flipping the small locks to the side. "My English is not as good as theirs, I am sorry."

Alice quickly shook her head, waving her hands in front. "No no, it's ok. I'm sorry I don't know anything more than Annyeonghaseyo either."

Dain grabbed on to Alice's forearm excitedly, pulling her away from the boys towards the line for the concession stand.

A few minutes later, Alice and Dain were each carrying a tray with a large bucket of popcorn and two sodas towards the giggling boys.

"Go help your girlfriend dude," Brian exclaimed smacking Jae as the girls approached. Jae quickly got to his feet swiftly taking the tray from Dain's hands. Dain rolled her eyes and pointed at the other two boys.

"And you're just going to let her carry your drinks?" She scolded, folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. Wonpil was the first to react, standing to his feet to grab the tray from Alice. Before Alice could protest, he held the tray with a smile.

"Now let's go watch this action film!" Jae started walking towards the theater entrance.


	6. Late Night Chats

After the movie, the new and old friends dragged Alice out to a popular Korean BBQ restaurant for dinner and soju. It took an embarrassing amount of time for Alice to understand the concept of the meal.

"Let me show you! Pass me the plate, Dain-ah!" Brian said excitedly reaching towards Dain for the large round plate of uncooked meats. As it had been in the movie theater, Alice was forced to sit between Wonpil and Brian; not that she minded. Alice leaned back as Brian brought the plate in front of them. The five of them sat around a large black table with two small charcoal grills in the center. An assortment of bowls and plates with various vegetables, sauces, and noodles littered the table. Brian took the tongs and carefully picked up a piece of beef before placing it on the grill. "It only takes a few minutes, you just have to be sure you get both sides and don't forget about it."

Brian had taken it upon himself to teach Alice the ways of Korean cooking, taking the time to point out each vegetable and meat and repeating their names in Korean as well. Alice recited the words back, not fully understanding them and being embarrassed at her lack of ability to remember their names.

"Beoseos," Wonpil says excitedly pointing to the brown mushrooms to the right of Alice.

"Be sos," she repeats handing him the bowl. He shakes his head, sitting the bowl down before picking one up for demonstration.

"Like this: buh sut. Soft T, not hard." He enunciates slowly, "Buh sut"

Alice nods as leans forward for her glass of soju before taking a generous sip. "Beoseos"

Wonpil and Brian both clap at her correct pronunciation. She grins, finishing her drink before sitting it down. Wonpil is quick to retrieve a green bottle, unscrewing the cap and filling her glass back up. She shakes her head, waving her hand over the beverage.

"No no, I need more water first. Thank you though!" She gives a wide smile of gratitude to the man on her left.

"Then don't finish your drink," Dain says leaning over Jae to look at Alice. "It's impolite to leave someone's cup empty so it's in our nature to keep your drink full at all times. If you don't want a refill, leave some in the cup."

Alice nods, the concept sounding mildly familiar. Dain would desperately need to give her a run down on the differences in etiquette before she went to the office tomorrow.

"Here, give me your plate. This one is finished." Brian asks, turning the now crispy brown slice of beef over once more before pulling it off towards Alice's ready plate. 

A bottle or two (or five) later and Alice was lugging Dain and Jae back towards the apartment. Thankfully, Brian had volunteered to call for a driver and more importantly, directions while Dain and Jae playfully flirted with each other. Wonpil decided to head out early, Alice couldn't understand his reason but Brian made it sound like it was a reasonable excuse. Brian explained the driving service he had called for to Alice as a walking taxi driver. The driver met them at the restaurant and drove them back to their apartment in their own car, taking a tip from Brian before leaving them parked outside the complex. Brian took Jae by the shoulders, wrapping his arms around Jae's waist as he propped him up beside the car.

"Need any help with her?" He asked Alice as she pulled Dain out from the car. Dain wasn't responsive, but she still kept most of her motor functions allowing the process to be much easier.

"Nah I should be fine if she doesn't resist me," Alice joked, following his lead with Jae and wrapping an arm around Dain's waist.

Brian chuckled, pulling Dain's keys from his pocket and locking the car before adjusting the heavily intoxicated Jae on his hip.

"Do they always drink this much?" Alice questioned as they proceeded towards their building.

"I wouldn't say it's an everyday occasion but this was your first time out to dinner in Korea and they were secondhand celebrating for you. Both of them are lightweights though, surprisingly Wonpil can drink us all under the table."

"Really? That little guy? Impressive." Alice looked over at Brian with a smile. "Thank you, by the way, I would not have survived that outing without you."

Brian chuckles, pushing Jae further into him as he approached the lobby door of our building. He struggles for a moment before managing to pry the door open and keep it open for Alice to shuffle in with Dain.

"No problem, I had a feeling he'd overdo it and become useless and poor girl is a sucker for her boy so I figured they'd do this. I'm happy to help, was it fun for you?"

"Absolutely, I'm so happy to have met you and Wonpil and especially to have dinner with you two as well. To be honest, it's a bit nerve racking when I think about it. I've been listening to Day6 for awhile now and it blows my mind to not only get the pleasure of meeting you but get to hang out with as well. You'll have to forgive me if I fangirl too hard," Alice said as she pulled Dain into the elevator. Dain grunted, rolling her head onto Alice's shoulder almost cuddling her neck. Alice laughed, petting Dain's head softly.

"Really? That's awesome, Jae didn't mention you were a fan. Do you have a bias?" He asked, typing in the keycode for the lift. Alice pulled her keys from her purse to have them out and ready when the elevator came to a stop.

"Not really, I would have said Jae but that's mostly because I think he's videos are hilarious but I don't think I can say that anymore."

"Yea, don't let him find out. His head is big enough, you can just tell him you're Young K biased and be done with it. Although he might spend the rest of his life to convince you to switch." He grins, giving a professional wink towards Alice.

Alice did everything in her power to resist feeling flustered, she knew it was an idols job to harmlessly flirt but she was always so awkward with direct flirting. She had always been good at talking herself up, but she could never genuinely flirt; it was always a show for her. Despite her best efforts, she felt her face flush as she shook her head with a laugh.

"I think I'll go with Wonpil instead, he was adorable." She decided to counter her awkwardness with ego, feeling it would catch a small reaction from Brian. The truth was, she was able to flirt easily with anyone she didn't have an attraction towards and she just had to convince herself that she could not find any idol friend of Dain's or an idol in person: attractive.

Brian gave a loud short laugh, shaking his head as he guided the very clear sleepwalking rather drunk walking, Jae to their door.

"Ok ok ok, I see how it is. I go out of my way to impress you but you go for the friend, well I can't say I'm surprised. Wonpil is pretty freaking adorable."

Alice giggles, punching in the keycode before turning her key and opening the door. Brian picks Jae up, tossing him over his shoulder as he walks inside the apartment. Alice fumbles pulling Dian in as she searches for a light to turn on before she hears Brian yell an, 'I got it.' Alice places Dain on the small step, knowing she will regret having to pick her back up. She pulls at Dain's shoe laces, peeling her shoes off and placing them the side Dain had meticulously laid hers out by. Brian rounds the corner, Jae-less, and smiles at Alice.

"Want me to carry her in? It'll probably be easier than having to drag her up," He reaches down waiting for Alice's consent before touching Dain. Alice nods, taking her own converse off and replacing them with the plush yellow Sally duck slippers she had bought the day before. She hangs her keys up on the hook beside the door along with her purse, knowing it would be easier to transfer purses in the morning than right now. Alice shuffles into the master kitchen, opening the refrigerator door pulling two bottles of water out. By the time she turned around Brian was already approaching from the drunk couples bedroom.

"Well they're out, I was going to leave a bottle of water and some aspirin out but I don't know where anything is anymore. Her brother used to have everything set up so different."

Alice opens the door again to grab two more bottles, setting them on the edge of the counter.

"Was her brother the reason she knows everyone?" She asks, opening her bottle and taking a large gulp.

Brian grabs the spare bottle, doing the same.

"Pretty much, Ginam-hyung is kinda big in the music development in Korea right now. He built it to what it is today, he's been in the business a really long time."

"I've never met the man, is he a producer or an agent?" Alice walks towards the living room, after sitting on the floor for dinner and having to half carry Dain around, she really wanted to sit on the comfy couch. Plopping herself down with Brian following her, she turned to face him.

"It's not really like that, in k-pop you have to do a bit of everything. He started with management mostly, then it switched to producing, then he was back to group management before he settled for his sweet executive gig. He's worked with all the greats though doing a bit of everything," Brian said taking a seat across from her.

"Like k-pop or k-rock greats?" Alice asked with a smile. She loved making connections and while she couldn't fatum under any circumstances she would ever be able to meet some of these great people, the mere idea it could happen brought a ridiculous level of excitement to her head.

"Both! He's worked with everyone under different circumstances. He worked with BigBang, BTS, PSY, GOT7, The Rose, IU, ATEEZ, CNBlue; everyone. It doesn't hurt he's best friends with a lot of managers too. Back when we met, BTS was just getting popular internationally and he's been best buds with their manager Sejin-hyung since their service way back when; so he got a lot of tips from that friendship as well."

"Wait wait wait, you know Manager Sejin enough to call him hyung?" Alice questioned, setting her water bottle down on the table to look at Brian more closely. He gulped nervously, wiping his face from the water.

"I mean, I've met him a bunch if that's what your asking. Hold up! Manager Sejin?" Brian gets up excitedly, a wide grin cutting across his face. "You're army? Are you joking?"

Alice immediately realized her mistake, but it was too late to recover. She stared down at her hands suddenly interested in her bracelet and lack of rings.

"Army is such a strong term, you've seen their fan base! It's absolutely manic, I can't call myself army at least not anymore . Look, I appreciate what BTS has done for kpop and pop music internationally, but I have always said I would love to meet their team way more than the members. I fell in love with their marketing team and believe me when I say you can have plenty of raw talent, but it takes a team to mold it into success and I've always been a huge fan of them as a business." Strategically trying to cover her old obsession with business talk was usually how she recovered with people from work. Alice wasn't sure she'd be as convincing to someone who actually knew the process and people involved.

Brian notices how embarrassed Alice got at the question, curling his grin into a soft smile as a reaction.

"AH, I see. Well that's different, yes their team was and still is ridiculously talented. You'll no doubt meet her brother, I'm sure Sejin-hyung won't be too far behind. I can't remember if he lives in Hannam or not, either way I'm certain your paths will cross at some point. But yes, her brother is pretty big in the industry. He's definitely more of a background guy now, but he's someone musicians and idols do not want to piss off if you know what I mean." Brian chose to move on from the obviously sensitive topic of BTS, it was too soon in their friendship to push buttons and he didn't want to seem like an ass for doing so right away.

"I never would have guessed, Dain is such a sweetheart." Alice was grateful Brian changed the conversation direction, although she knew it would come up again later down the line.

"She is, but so is he. He's a giant teddy bear honestly. Enough about Ginam-hyung, tell me about you. I can call for a ride but it's gonna take a few minutes for them to get here." Brian pulls out his phone, texting his usual service to get a ride.

"Me? What do you want to know?" Alice asks, running a hand through her hair.

"What brought you to Korea? Unless you're following drama logic and trying to catch a woefully innocent man to make honest."

Alice bent over, holding her hand over her mouth as she laughed loudly. "Woefully innocent man to make honest? Holy crap that's hilarious!"

After a moment of their laughter settling, Alice wipes the moisture from her eyes with a sigh.

"Nothing like that, I came here for me. I moved up as fair as I wanted to at my old job and had nothing holding me back to the states so here I am. I needed to be lost, I needed to find a place I could crawl out of and make a new name for myself. Dain and I had talked about jokingly before until I drunkenly sent in my application and the rest is history. I get all my credentials tomorrow and it still doesn't feel real. I feel like I'm going to wake up back home, alone and sad. It hasn't hit me yet I guess. Hell, I never thought I would be sitting here talking to you like this!"

"I'm nothing special," Brian said softly looking over at the woman next to him. He would be lying if he said there wasn't an attraction, but he knew her story and it was too soon for her to need anyone but the friendship he could provide and he was ok with that. "Sounds like you found a fantastic challenge to hurdle over."

"Yea," Alice smiles "I think I found the perfect one to show myself I have more than one persona." 

"Already quoting BTS again, you just can't stay away can you?" Brian jests with an eye roll. Alice chuckles, returning an epic worthy eye roll herself.

"You knew what I meant!"

Brian's phone buzzes signaling his ride had arrived. He stood up with a grin, wiped his hands on his pants before handing her his phone. "Here, give me your number. I'll be happy to help you with your Korean food selections whenever you need."

Alice inputs her new number before handing the phone back. "Been awhile since I gave a man my phone number and you're the first one to get my new one. Use it wisely!"

"So drunk calls at 1am and booty calls at 3, right?" He grins, his lips parting past his teeth slightly.

"Of course, anything after 4am is just rude." She joked right back, walking him to the front door. Brian chuckles, holding out his hand to her.

"Let's get coffee some time. Dain-ah and hyung are the worst at recommendations for caffeine, I'll hook you up."

Alice nods, shaking his hand with a grin. "I would desperately love that."

"Have a good first day and I'll see you soon!" Brian whispers as he opens the door and starts to head out.

"Don't forget to text me, otherwise having my number does nothing!" Alice leans against the door as he walks away.

"So clingy already!" He exclaims softly, pushing the lift button.

"I can't help it, I'm Young K biased remember!"

Brian grins, offering another knee buckling wink before stepping into the elevator. Alice waves as the doors close, stepping back into her apartment. She wasn't sure when she got so comfortable with Brian but she really hoped it was mutual, she could use all the friends she could.


	7. Lotte Etiquette

Alice woke up early despite having stayed up late talking to Brian. She spent an appropriate hour preparing herself for her first day of introductions to her new office. She looked over her emails, ensuring she wouldn't embarrassingly forget a document or fail to produce the correct ID. Once she completed her paperwork with the Human Resources department, she would be required to finish documentation with the government so she would be covered legally as an immigrant. The whole process had been quite the headache and Alice, more than once, deeply regretted not hiring a personal assistant to have taken care of all this for her but she couldn't justify spending the money on something she should be more than qualified to complete.

By 9am, Alice grabbed her black Prada Saffiano tote filled with all her work essentials and documents she would require and headed to the kitchen. She dressed modestly, a pair of straight navy trousers and her favorite white Prada poplin shirt with a compact pink bow placed on her right lapel. She wore smart sensible heels, not wanting to break her neck in a new country just yet. Alice had straighten her long blonde hair, going for a more modern sleek appearance rather than her usual tight high ponytail.

Dain stood supporting the kitchen counter with her head placed firmly on the top. Her usually perfected jet black hair had been thrown into a messy bun placed on the side of their head. Alice smirked, gently setting her bag on the table and placing a hand on Dain's back.

"Rough morning princess?" She asked, rubbing small circles on Dain's shoulders. Dain groaned, sinking further into the table with bended knees.

"Shut up, snowflake. Why aren't you hurting? Jae's a mess in my bathroom right now, and I don't even want to know how Brian and Wonpil are- they'll only make me upset." She whimpered, falling against the countertops resting her head on the lower cabinets. She eyed Alice, a lone strand covering one eye she clearly didn't have open.

"Someone had to work today and the boys were fine. Wonpil left us at the restaurant and Brian helped me carry your sorry asses back here otherwise we'd be waking up in a hotel. You forget that I know nothing about Seoul," Alice giggles, wiping the hairs from Dain's face. Dain grunted, whining as she attempted to stand up again. Alice offered a hand which Dain immediately took, balancing her weight between the counter and Alice's hand in an effort to pull herself up.

"Brian stayed to help?" Dain asked.

"Yea, he carried Jae while I took care of you." Alice walked over to the coffee pot, pulling the pot out to fill with water before brewing a strong batch.

"Interesting," Dain mumbled resting her head on her hand. Alice stopped scooping the coffee grounds to glance back at Dain.

"What do you mean interesting?"

Dain shrugged, shuffling towards the cabinet containing the coffee mugs before pulling out two large metal tumblers and setting them next to the pot.

"He's usually the first to make an escape. He's not a big people person, he doesn't like social outings all that often unless its work related. The man has spent the last three Christmas's and New Year's Eve alone in order to avoid people. He must like you, that's good. Look at you making friends and shit." Dain attempted to send a wink but ended with a grimace instead. Alice considered on what Dain said, thinking it had been incredibly natural to have conversations with Brian. She wouldn't have expected him to carry such introverted tendencies as to skip holidays in favor of being alone, but she didn't exactly know him all that well either.

"Eh well it was fun, we talked a lot and he's going to show me the best coffee shops one day so I'm looking forward to that." Alice flipped the coffee maker on, the machine purring and hissing as it brought the sweet liquid into creation. 

An hour later and Dain and Alice sat in the parking lot of the Lotte corporate headquarters. Every nerve, every fear Alice had pushed down came rushing to ahead as she held onto Dain's car door.

Was she qualified to be here? How many people would be disappointed she was taking an esteemed position? Would her being a woman result in more challenges than she was willing to overcome? How unprofessional was it of her to not even speak the language for a job she accepted? Will her background prove to be an asset or would it hold her back?

She took a deep breath, swallowing the self doubt down with a giant gulp. It was too late to turn back now. She was here, in Korea, about to start this adventure whether she was prepared or not. It was too late for her to study proper Korean greetings and phrases, she would have to hope someone in the office spoke English and would be able to point her in the right direction.

"Breathe snowflake, you're going to be fine. Everyone in headquarters is required to speak English, so you won't have any trouble with this process. Just remember a few things in case you end up meeting a boss or two. One: you can shake hands with men, but avoid doing so with another woman. If for any reason you receive a gift, accept it with both hands and a small bow. Avoid excessive eye contact with the secretaries as too much eye contact with someone who is seen as a superior such as yourself can come across as rude. Also-and this is very important- keep your feet on the floor at all times. Do not cross your legs or stretch them for whatever reason while in a meeting; it's horribly impolite and seen as you not showing the proper amount of respect or attention. If at the end of the meeting or communication, the other bows deeply that means it was seen as successful. Remember you will be seen as someone of high social standard now, so you should expect to bow first but the other, unless they are your superior, should always bow lower than you. If they do not, please catch and remember their name because it is offensive for them to not show you the level of respect your position holds. Save the confrontation for another day, but it is not seen as an abuse of power to point out their disrespect, it is to be assumed you receive it and should be corrected if not. Above all else, ask to be excused and call me. It's far better to avoid mistakes rather than fix them." Dain recites, putting a comforting hand on Alice's shoulder.

"But no pressure huh?" Alice jokes lowly, inhaling softly before opening the door.

"You'll be fine, I have faith in you." Dain displays a thumbs up and a huge grin.

Alice waves, adjusting her bags strap holding it closer to her chest like a life vest. She shakes away her nerves and proceeds to the main entrance.

As soon as she enters the building, she's shoving down her doubt once again. The massive lobby had one circular desk in the center with multiple turnstiles blocking access to the elevators. A well built guard placed on both sides of the entry points. As soon as Alice stepped inside she noticed their attention was immediately on her. She straightened up, knowing her first impression was the most important and she could not afford to mess this interaction up. She calmly crossed the lobby, briefly making eye contact with the young lady behind the counter at the desk. She had been on the phone, but as soon as she noticed Alice she shoved the receiver down and stood up. She gave a deep bow, startling Alice. Dain advised her to give the bows first, had she already messed up. Alice came to an abrupt stop, bowing instantly and holding for a few extra seconds. She noted the young lady looked up to see if Alice was maintaining the bow before bowing further then pulling back up avoiding eye contact with Alice.

"Good Morning and welcome to the Lotte Corporation! We are honored to have you here with us, Ms. Walton." The young lady had a soft soprano tone in her voice as she spoke perfect English.

"Good morning! Thank you so much, I am happy to be here." Alice hesitantly replied.

"I would be happy to escort you to the correct department to begin your paperwork if you would please follow me." The woman states, waving a long slender arm towards the turnstiles. She grabs a key ring of key cards from a drawer before walking out from behind the desk. She gives Alice a soft smile, careful to not maintain eye contact before proceeding towards the far left barrier. Alice notes her attire; an almost too short plain black skirt, an oversized pale pink button down tucked in the front but left lazily in the back, and brightly polished bronze heels to match her off the shoulder brunette hairstyle. The young lady presses a card down onto a scanner for the particular turnstile she had directed Alice towards before waving Alice through. Alice clutched her bag, quickly pushing through the gates. Once she cleared the barrier, the young lady repeated the process for herself walking straight towards the farmost elevator on the left. There were three lifts on either side and Alice desperately hoped that meant she wouldn't have to struggle with a crowd every morning, but she had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.

"You will need to use lift 4 after today, but for Human Resources you must take lift 6." The young lady announced, pointing to the golden numbers above each steel door.

The ride was quiet, the lift quickly ascending up a dramatic amount of 30 floors within seconds. Once the steel framed doors opened to a grand floor decorated with grand bold red flowers and pristine white marble, Alice had to once again remember to breathe.

Even their human resources department is this extravagant, I can't wait to see what our offices will look like.

The young lady quickly guided Alice down a hallway before stopping at the mouth of a room covered in glass walls. Rows of large offices sat the bottom of a small staircase, this brought a whole new level of transparency in business. From the top of the staircase, you could see into every office on the floor. Roughly 20 offices, two conference sized rooms, and over 30 cubicles were set completely on display. Alice gulped quietly, desperately hoping her floor did not contain the same layout. While as an executive, she understood the appeal this setup pertained; however she required and instilled more respect and boundaries for her team.

"Right this way," The young lady waved a hand down the stairs, directing Alice towards one of the first door on the right. An older woman sat comfortably at her large black steel desk, looked up at the slight sound of the bounce opening her glass door caused. She had thick black rimmed glasses, dangling from a chain around her neck as she noted Alice's appearance. Alice waited until the older woman stood up, walking around her desk to approach Alice before she bowed in respect. Dain did say the younger should bow first and she desperately hoped that was the correct move. The older lady gave a small smile before bowing in response, lower to show she respected Alice's position as well as her effort.

"Good morning, Ms. Walton. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Kim Yu Ji; I will be assisting you with your transition today. Thank you, that will be all." The older woman looked over at the younger before the younger immediately left.

Two hours later, Alice had completed the documentation and obtained at least ten packets of information she was expected to learn over the course of the week. Yu Ji provided Alice with an ID card, assuring her it would grant her access to every room in the building minus the Presidents and above; a keyring containing 12 different keys she had yet to explain; and a binder full of all active personnel currently employed with Lotte World under operations and entertainment.

"My job is now complete, I will show you your office now." Yu Ji assessed, filing the final paperwork away before standing to direct Alice back to the elevators.

Once back in the lobby, Yu Ji explained lift 4 could only be accessed by those with the correct ID and once inside they had to provide their employee number to ascend to the floor.

"You will be at floor 42 out of 44; however your credentials allow you access to all floors on lift four. Floors 43 is for the Lotte Mall executives with all presidents based on floor 44. Your secretary will not be given access to those floors, they will only be provided with access to your floor so please remember that before you send them on errands."

The door hissed, once again opening to bright crimson flowers only this time matched with a gray marble. The doors emptied to a large foyer ending with a descending staircase. To Alice's excitement there were no glass offices visible from this point although the layout was somewhat similar except there were only five large walled off offices. Yu Ji walked to the end hallway where a long desk sat with at least four young attendants sat quietly typing away on their computers. She waved a hand to the opposite side of the room where a solo desk and a young man sat. He was scribbling on a notepad as he nodded on his bluetooth while on an invisible call. As Yu Ji and Alice approached, he looked up immediately standing just as the attendant from the lobby had done. He quickly said something in Japanese to the other end of his bluetooth before ripping it from his ear and setting it on the desk. He walked around and without waiting for Alice to initiate the bow, lowered his head deeply. Alice tisked, really hoping someone would allow her to show proper manners before they assumed she didn't understand, before returning the bow.

The young man was smaller than she expected, only a few inches taller than her as he stood back up. His petite stature was overshadowed by his obviously bulging muscles hidden underneath his rather tight white long sleeve shirt. He had deep jet black eyes, more almond shape than round with thin lips tucked below. He fumbled with his fingers, wiping his hands over his crisp black pants. The first thought Alice had was how was she going to politely tell this young man he desperately needed a haircut.

"Ms. Walton, this is your secretary: Mr. Tatsuki Kimura. He has recently relocated from our Tokyo department and will provide you with all the information you will need. I hope you have a good day, I will be going." Without waiting for any further communication, Yu Ji bowed deeply before leaving Alice with Tatsuki.

"Let me show you to your office!" Tatsuki exclaimed excitedly. He turned on his heels, taking a few steps behind his desk to the large brown door behind him. He swiped the ID hanging around his neck over a scanner next to the door and with a beep it unlocked.

Alice, expecting it to open straight to her office was surprised to see another office layout. Two closed offices on either side, a kitchen and lounge room in the center with what she guessed was her actual office at the end. Tatsuki walked right to the grand walnut door at then end and twisting the knob before displaying the room to Alice. A marvelous floor to ceiling glass window that gave a drool worthy view of the Han River welcomed Alice as soon as she stepped in. Dark wooden bookcases displayed on either end with a black desk in the center. Lotte's signature red flowers decorated the office in a romantic feel, the black leather couch on the end even more so. 

Alice felt a deep sense of pride filled her as she stared around the office. She wasn't sure what she had done in life to deserve this opportunity to have such a brilliant office, but she was going to make the most of it.

"Ms. Walton?" Tatsuki asked quietly, wrapping his hands around his back. Alice turned to face him with a smile, completely forgetting the eye contact rule. "I know I am your administrative assistant but I have a few questions if you don't mind. I want to be the best assistant I can be for you!" He gives a broad smile that Alice fights to be flustered by. 

"Of course! I'll answer any questions you have," she replies quickly.

"How would you like me to address you? Ms. Walton? Director?"

"Ms. Walton is fine."

"Yes ma'am; I understand you will be working in the park for the first three months, would you prefer to meet every morning at the office or at the park?"

"The park will be fine, but this will change on what business needs to be addressed."

"Yes ma'am, how do you like your coffee or tea?"

"I am perfectly capable of obtaining my morning caffeine, I will not require your assistance there."

Tatsuki frowns at that but nods. "Yes ma'am,"

"Tatsuki, I'm very easy going and I'm not the kind of boss that rules harshly; I have high expectations but at the end of the day we work for the Guests. Once a week, I will require you to join me in playing in the parks and observing everything our Guests see. If for whatever reason I am not able to go a week, I will expect you to go in my place. It is important that we constantly remain grounded by our roles in this company; we sell happiness. I can come across as intense because I love my job very much but understand I have a strong passion for what I do and I expect you to carry the same. I will never ask you to do something that I haven't, or wouldn't do myself. If you question a judgement or statement I've made, feel free to question me. I respect you and your position, all I ask is the same." Alice states, looking over at Tatsuki for a nod or some confirmation he understood her expectations. He gave a smile and bobbed his head in agreement. "Oh and one more thing, if you see me doing anything impolite or if I've said the wrong thing please for the love of all that is blessed, correct me. I am ashamed to say I will rely on your guidance to excel these first few months."

Tatsuki laughs, nodding excitedly.

"Yes ma'am. Consider me your Korean and Japanese translator as well as cultural guide. I can't have you embarrassing me, can I?" He jokes causing Alice to bust out laughing.

"I think we are going to work together just fine Tatsuki!"


	8. Idle Chatter

Alice spent the next hour setting the security up on her computer and her brand new laptop along with the sleek just released Samsung phone Tatsuki provided her. She had needed his assistance to change all of the default Korean settings into English, which proved to be difficult seeing as the emails were to be sent in Korean.

"I'm so sorry, I promise this job is more than translating." Alice apologized again, leaning over her desk to hand Tatsuki her new phone. He chuckled, grabbing the phone with both hands before looking it over.

"It's ok, I'm going to consider these first few months a breeze if this is all I have to do. I've been doing live translation from Mandarin to Korean for the past week and my head is spinning. My Mandarin is best kept on paper and not repeated. Its been awhile since I've used English so frequently, so I'm more than happy to put those skills to work. I would also recommend you send all your emails to me before sending them to anyone else in the company. I'd like to send a translated copy of it at the bottom; it will look more professional and that you care about perception."

"Noted, how long have you been with Lotte?" Alice asked, making an actual note to always send emails to him instead of reply all.

"Ten years? I've bounced around the corporation; working through their New York hotel to start for two years with the past eight years in Japan. This is my first corporate level position, so I hope to never disappoint. What about you? How long were you at Disney and why did you leave?" Tatsuki handed over the phone, showing a clear English set up display. Alice sighed, looking over the instructions. It had been years since she had used anything not Apple related and the process would take awhile to get used to.

"I was there for almost fifteen years. I moved up from the entry level position to an executive level over time, spending the last two years as Head of Operations. I can't really say that's a corporate position either, so we are in the same boat for terminology. I reached the position I wanted and life got in the way. It was always my dream to retire overseas to work at an international theme park, I just got a head start." Alice decided she would take a picture in the parks tomorrow and set as her phones background, but for now she would settle for the generic background.

"Who dreams of working for retirement?" Tatsuki laughs, reaching for a stack of papers on Alice's desk to organize, searching for folders.

"Like I said earlier, I enjoy my work. I get a huge kick out of seeing how operations work and I won't lie; efficiency is my thing." Alice said, looking over at Tatsuki with a grin.

"Well we all have our vices," He muttered with a smirk.

Alice laughed, impressed with his boldness to start joking with his boss right away. Dain had mentioned it wasn't a common occurrence for office place humor, but Alice suspected either he felt comfortable with her or he was good at reading people and knew she'd appreciate the joke.

"Alright, what about you? You wanted corporate so bad you'd relocate for it?"

"Not really, I enjoyed my position in events back in Japan. I enjoyed the freedom of not being chained to a desk. My last boss hated doing anything outside the office so I pretty much ran everything else, it was great. I wanted the chance to prove myself so I applied on a whim and here I am. I didn't expect to be the head of departments assistant right away, but I think being fluent in English was a selling point considering who you were. I don't want your job in the future if that's what your asking," he added a smirk to let her know he was being honest as well as joking.

"Why not?" Alice set her phone to the side, tilting her head at his response.

"I prefer being the point of contact for events. If I move up anymore, my responsibilities relocate to someone who does the job I'm doing now and I'm not a fan of that idea. I don't have big dreams or crazy ideas I want to play out; I want to be the one who actually does the work to make something happen." Tatsuki places the folder he had been reading down on Alice's desk with a smile, folding his hands in his lap.

"I respect that, I'm very similar. Maybe there's leadership in you yet though, sometimes it just takes the right motivation to spark your imagination."

"Cut the Disney speil, you don't work there anymore." Tatsuki rolls his eyes, picking the folder back up and holding it out to Alice. "Moving on from this lifetime movie; here are the names and resumes of the board you are on now; Board of Operations. Meetings are once a month with the first one this Friday. I'll be there with you to translate, although everyone speaks perfect English. In this next folder are the names of those who work directly under you; your general managers from each park and their direct subordinates. They do contract renewals at the beginning of every year so while you would normally be allowed to create your own team, the former head of department renewed those who were almost up. That would be one of your GM's and several daily operation managers."

Alice moved the file of her peers to the side, wanting to inspect them privately, and opened the folder of those she would be in charge of. Four different names, all Korean men. That could be a challenge. Alice preferred to have at least one other female leader, she wanted to create a diverse environment for everyone to be comfortable with. She would need to inspect the subordinates to see if there were any women up for the task were the opportunity to present itself.

"You have roughly 900 operations cast members throughout Lotte World, with an average of 300 working daily. The four general managers alternate days off so you should always have one available when you are not. The first order of business will be to meet them and decide who will be acting as Head while you are training."

Alice looks up sharply, narrowing her eyes at Tatsuki.

"Excuse me? What do you mean? I will be fulfilling both roles. I do not disagree I need an alternate, but for now- can that not come later on? I am not comfortable selecting someone without knowing them first."

Tatsuki bit his lip, giving a soft shrug.

"By the head of human resources, you are to select an alternate by the end of the week. I can investigate further if you want, it was just on the to do list I was sent last week."

Alice sighed, running her hand through her hair with a nod.

"I don't want to start any fires my first day. I will need more time though, can you see if that's an option? I want to know these guys character first. The last thing I want is to put a hot head in my place while I'm training. I'd come back to ruin and ash and I'm not about that life." 

Another hour later and Alice had a better understanding of not only her role but also who worked under her directly. It was no secret her journey would be a challenge, but after talking more with Tatsuki she felt prepared. She sent a text to Dain to signal she was finished with her work and could explore all Lotte had to offer. No less than 20 minutes later, Dain replied she was parking and would wait for her in the lobby.

"Alright Tatsuki, I'm finished for the day! If you could find out more about the selection I'd appreciate it, but don't stay too late. We can meet in the lobby at 8am if that is alright with you."

Tatsuki nodded, looking up from his desk to smile at Alice as she walked towards the elevators. Thankfully it was mostly a straight shot otherwise she might have needed assistance in locating them.

"I will see you bright and early Ma'am."

Alice met Dain in the lobby, Dain having changed into a more appropriate play in the park attire of jean shorts and a t-shirt.

"I figured we could go walk around the Mall first to buy you something more park worthy if you want." Dain suggested, taking Alice's work bag from her shoulder. Alice nodded, knowing she had plenty of clothes at home but the thought of buying more clothes always excited her even if it took her hours to decide. "Perfect! Let's go drop this off first."

Once dropping off Alice's work purse and grabbing her work ID and wallet, the pair walked around the massive Lotte Duty Free Mall. Alice was able to find affordable business casual black slacks and modest button down that would allow her to walk around the parks and still feel like she could properly represent the company if the moment demanded it.

From the moment Alice saw the entrance to Magic Island, she knew she had made the right choice in her career change. It wasn't just the scenery that inspired her, it was the atmosphere the cast members seemed to create. It wasn't just simple theming, like a themed greeting or phrase. It wasn't just the costumes they wore or the products they were selling. It was everything she had seen before long ago when she first started working in theme parks. It was the dream and illusion everything combined built. She was in the middle of the capital of South Korea, in a theme park, but she felt transported to the Magic Island Lotte built back in 1989.

The castle in the center was a mixture of both iconic castles from the American theme parks, but somehow the castle Alice stood in front of caused her to lose her breath. She admired the colors, the structure and everything around it. It felt more like a fairy tale than any park she had ever been in.

"Magical, isn't it?" Dain asked, grabbing ahold of Alice's arm with a squeeze. Alice looked over at Dain and grinned.

"Truly, gives me all kinds of ideas."

Dain leaned into Alice's shoulder with a chuckle.

"Pixie dust can only get you so far, maybe what you really needed was some stardust."

"Oh jeez Dain-how much are they paying you?" Alice joked, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever! You'll see! This place has a special place in my heart and I get the feeling it will for you too!" Dain said, sticking her tongue out at Alice and with that, Dain dragged Alice further into the the park to explore.


	9. Interim and Gold

The first four days Alice spent learning the inner workings of the park. She attended two orientation style days, learning the corporate history as well as the parks. Her facilitators were unaware of her significance, Tatsuki did a great job blending in as not only her translator but hiding the fact she carried weight for the park. Alice wanted to remain as hidden as she could, thankfully her orientations had been held with large groups with multiple foreigners so she wasn't as obvious as in she was in the office. By the end of the fourth day, Tatsuki walked her back to her office holding a stack of folders Alice had learned to hate.

"You need to pick someone by tomorrow, or else they will choose for you." He reminded her as he held the door open for her. She sighed, running a hand over her head and removing the ponytail she almost always wore when in the parks.

"I really hate this. I feel like I'm being forced to choose my replacement. How do I know these men won't try to sabotage me?" She asked, shaking her hair from the previous restraint.

"You don't, but I don't think that's how this works. Only one of them applied to for your position and honestly, he's not competition to you." Tatsuki sighed, sliding the folders to her expectedly.

"Why do you say that?"

"He's only worked with Lotte. He grew within the company. The other general managers have at least worked aboard; one even worked in Belgium, another in Dubai."

"He's brand loyal then, that does carry some weight though." She flipped through the papers, reading the resumes and statements she had Tatsuki obtain from their direct reports. Of course, if she had time she would have met with all of them individually and gotten to know not only themselves but also their team, but this was a timetable she did not control.

"Not enough to matter to the higher ups apparently since you were chosen. It's simple, don't pick him and you don't have to worry about it." Tatsuki rolled his eyes, leaning forward to remove the offender's folder from contention.

Alice slapped his hand away with a frown. Tatsuki hissed, reeling his hand back to his mouth with a pout.

"That's not how this works. If I could have done this blind, I would have been happier. Everyone deserves an unbiased chance to prove themselves. If he is the best alternative I have, I owe him that opportunity. It was wrong of me to look at this personally, this is business and I can't assume everyone is out to get me."

"Uh, yeah you can and you should," Tatsuki shook his hand that was already sporting a soft red glare from her slap. "I'm not saying everyone is out to get you but there were definitely some people unhappy about you being hired."

Alice rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly. Before she could respond to her personal cell phone vibrated, rattling itself in her desks bottom drawer. She set the papers down and pulled open the drawer. Reaching for her phone, she smiled at the message she had just received.

"You've been in South Korea for less than a week, who the heck has you smiling like that other than me?" Tatsuki questioned, leaning forward to sneak a peek at her phone. Alice recoiled, sticking her tongue out at her assistant.

"Oh please, you should already know by now you're the only Asian man for me."

"That's Japanese to you, ma'am. It's not fair to compare me to the rest of Asia, gotta give those pretty boys from K-Pop a chance to make you question your reality."

"What the heck does that even- no never mind. You're right, you're the only Japanese man in my life," Alice tossed her head back in laughter, recovering from Tatsuki's extreme confidence boost. She looked down at her phone, seeing Ultimate Bias had texted her. Apple never should have allowed other people to update their own contact information; Brian had definitely abused that privilege.

Ultimate Bias: Hey, you free for coffee?

Alice: You think you deserve coffee after changing your name in my phone?

Ultimate Bias: I make no apologies for the truth. You have good taste.

Alice: But what is Wonpil going to think when he sees my phone? Betrayed 😩

Ultimate Bias: He can settle for your Day6 bias, but I've claimed the Ultimate title 😇

Ultimate Bias: Now about this ☕️☕️

Alice chuckled, rolling her eyes at his response.

Alice: I have some things I need to complete but I can probably be finished in 30 minutes.

Ultimate Bias: Perfect. I'll get dressed and head that way. I'll text when I'm close so I can pick you up.

Alice: You're buying! 😈

Ultimate Bias: Wouldn't have it any other way! 😇

Alice shook her head sitting her phone face down before picking back up the files.

"I like the resume of this one guy. Do you know anything more about Choi Jaehoon?"

Tatsuki hummed, grabbing a notebook and flipping the pages.

"Choi Jaehoon; 43, married with two kids-both girls. He's been with Lotte for nearly ten years, starting from the within the parks until he moved up. He's had the same protective assistant since his advancement so I'm afraid I only know a few extra tidbits. He's mostly known for being fair with his punishments and he's a planner. He isn't known for working under pressure, but he's dependable for the aftermath. There was an incident a couple years back where an employee got seriously injured due to lack of following procedures and he fired everyone involved, which didn't look great to the media at the time considering the employee was a high school student on their phone. Every since that incident, he's been overly cautious with any circumstances. He is also well known for being a champion for minorities which isn't entirely common so that's a plus. I'd say he's a safe bet."

Alice nodded, giving a heavy sigh before tapping her fingers on the table in thought.

"I think he's my best choice. With my limitations and these guidelines, he appears to be the candidate best suited for my stand in. All I can ask is that he's fair and he shows up to work."

Alice handed Tatsuki Jaehoon's file with a heavy heart. She would have no way of knowing if her choice was for the best, until it was too late. She could only hope that wouldn't have to happen.

After completing the process of selecting Jaehoon for the role, sending the emails to Tatsuki and updating all of the proper documents, Alice grabbed her purse and headed for the lobby. She decided it would be quicker to meet Brian there than make him wait while she lounged in her office. As soon as she got into the elevator she felt her phone vibrate.

Ultimate Bias: Got here early, take your time.

Alice: No need, I'll be there in a moment.

A few seconds later and the doors slide open to the lobby. Alice turned to see a very out of place Brian leaning against the receptionist's desk talking to a very flustered looking receptionist.

"Oh, so you're Myday are you?" He asked. Alice paused at the turnstiles to admire her new 'ultimate bias' blatantly flirting with fan.

"I've been a fan since high school! Congratulations will always be my favorite song!" The receptionist exclaimed excitedly with a huge grin. Brian propped his head up with his hand as he leaned forward with his award winning smirk.

"Is it now? That's awesome, thank you for supporting us. Do you have a bias?" He cooed, batting his thick dark lashes at the unsuspecting girl. The receptionist blushed, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"You," She whimpered not being able to maintain eye contact. Brian jumped from leisure pose to give a fist pump and a hiss of excitement. He twirled around in place before his eyes caught Alice standing only a short distance away. She laughed, shaking her head and dramatically rolling her eyes at his reaction. Brian grinned, throwing his hands in the air as he abandoned the young receptionist and approached Alice.

"See! I think it's clear I'm the favorite in the band for just about everyone!" He cheered, patting himself on the back. Alice pushed her way through the turnstiles and gave a loud sigh as she glared at the forgotten receptionist.

"He will make my life difficult now, thank you!" She jested, adding a smile in case her sarcasm did not translate. The young girl stared at Alice in fear, immediately throwing herself back into her chair and disappearing behind paperwork. Brian chuckled, glancing back at the fan before providing Alice his full attention. He wore dark form fitting jeans and a long brown jacket wrapped tightly around his body. His black hair now had bright blonde highlights freckled throughout providing a healthy shine and glare as he eagerly looked at Alice.

"Are you ready?" He asked, pointing to the door behind him that led to the garage. "I figured we'd walk since it's not that far."

Alice nodded, thankful she had worn her a more comfortable outfit today instead of the dress and heels she had lined up for tomorrow.

"How trainee life treating you?" Brian asked as he held the door open for Alice.

"I mean, it's not exactly the same but it's fun to see the frontline side of things again. How about you? I actually have no idea what you do during the day."

Brian laughed, pointing to the left side of the street as he guided Alice through the heavily crowded streets.

"Good, Dowoon just came back from service and is on a break for the next month. We just need his parts and we'll be ready for a comeback."

"I've been a fan for years, what exactly happens on the artist side of a comeback? I've always pictured it being something like a 24 hour non-stop dress rehearsal with extreme pressure."

"You don't think a 24 hour non-stop dress rehearsal would be pressure enough? What are we machines?"

"Sorry! Consider me someone who has only ever looked from the outside in. I know nothing of your actual world, be my teacher!"

"Again with the BTS references? I'm starting to get jealous here," Brian shot Alice a wink before running a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Well what do you want to know? The comeback side or the everyday life side?"

Alice rolled her eyes, playfully sticking her tongue out at Brian, "start with the comeback."

Brian pointed to a small grey staircase that led up to a white building with a bright blue door. Small lettering decorated the edge of the doors window, but before Alice could make out words Brian pushed open the door and waved her in. The store wasn't the usual stand out, Alice had come to expect with most over the top locations. Dain had taken her to a place called Yellow Cafe and it had a plethora of color and images lining the wall. This place held no such decor.

"Where did you take me?" She mumbled, glancing around the room for a store sign in hopes of not only seeing one, but that it might also be in English.

"It's a cake cafe; Dore Dore. Means gold in French, but they have some pretty famous cakes. I think they started that rainbow cake fade years ago if you remember. Figured if I was buying, I'd need something sweet to pair with the bitterness of your presence."

Alice gapped, turning to immediately stared wide eyed at Brian in shock. She shouldn't be surprised how comfortable he was around her, but the bluntness of the joke caught her off guard.

"Be careful young man! I'm five years older than you and you've never shown me an ounce of respect. You're lucky I don't make you call me noona or something,''she glares at him with a soft smirk letting him know she could bite back just as much as he could.

She immediately regretted her choice of honorifics as soon as it left her mouth for two reasons: one; it sounded wrong coming from her, two; the evil smirk that appeared on Brian's lips after she uttered the phrase was enough to make her groan.

"Noona, is it? You want me to call you noona?" He inched closer to her, make a show of him checking Alice out. He let his eyes start from her sensible keds to her flattering skin tight black slacks and quickly glossed over her chest to meet her enraged hazel eyes. "It's barely been a week and you want me to call you noona?"

"Ugh I have regrets," She sneered leaving the swooning man behind as she approached the counter. She heard him chuckle before she felt him walk up beside her. She shot him a glare before looking at the cakes behind the glass. About twenty vastly different styled cakes stood displayed, ranging from anime characters to animals and designs. Alice instantly spotted the rainbow cake Brian had been referencing and it was every bit as photogenic as the idols themselves. She couldn't help but smile at the sweets, treats had always been a soft spot for her. 

Before she made the voyage overseas she had longed to travel the world in search of the best foods and Alice couldn't believe she was living her dream. She grinned, forgetting all about Brian and his rude comment as she bent down to continue to admire the artistry in the cake designs.

"You can get more than one as long as you share," Brian whispered bending down next to Alice.

"I don't like you that much," she muttered- her eyes never leaving the cakes.

"Alright fine, you don't have to share. Which ones do you want?" Brian reasoned, knowing better than to get in between a woman and her sweets. His older sister taught him that while growing up and it was definitely a lesson he did not need to learn twice.

"I want the rainbow one- obviously," She pointed out the chocolate cake that had been sliced to showcase it's rainbow layers divided with more chocolate frosting. "Is that just a strawberry cake?" She pointed to a cloud of a cake encrusted with strawberries from every angle.

"I think so, but let me ask." Brian stood up waving at the young girl behind the register. She dutifully comes over and addresses them, answering all of Brian's questions. "It's shortcake with strawberries inside, do you want that?"

Alice nodded with a wide grin, looking up at Brian. He paused, admiring her expression and the way she looked at him feeling a bubble rise to his throat. He coughed nervously, turning away from Alice's gaze before ordering her second slice and two cups of coffee. While Brian ordered, Alice went to select a table, choosing one in front of the window without regard to being noticed with an idol.

Alice closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet sugary smell that mixed with the fresh ground coffee beans. She felt grateful that Brian took her here, to be fair she felt grateful for Brian in general. Alice hadn't known him long, but their friendship appeared as if they had known each other for years. She felt comfortable with him and the fact he was handsome didn't hurt either. It wasn't that she had been afraid to date after her divorce, she just didn't want to jump back into anything until it felt right. One of Alice's biggest motivational factors she had been channeling was knowing when to trust her gut. She had let far too many things make her nervous in her life and once the ink was dry on her divorce, she decided to trust her instincts and let that guide her in life. Alice would wait until she met someone who felt right and in no way forced before she let her heart be unlocked again.

"Here we go! Two slices of cake and coffee for you, noona." Brian smirked, biting his bottom lip as he slid the plates towards Alice before taking the seat across from her.

"Only took you ten years to respect your elders," she mumbled lifting her fork in excitement.

"Yah! It's been a week and Dain-ah is older than most of us but hates being called noona." He jested as he lifted his coffee to taste. He wasn't going to admit he liked calling Alice noona, as it was a more imitate term between friends, he wanted Alice to get annoyed with his efforts first.

"Well I can't call you oppa, sorry."

Brian immediately set his cup down and leaned close to Alice with a wicked grin.

"You can call me whatever you want, noona." With a wink, he resumed his position and drinking his coffee as he admired how flustered he appeared to make Alice. Burgundy rouge spread across her cheeks as she glared down at her slices. She lifted her fork and before ever taking a photo of the treats, she plunged into the strawberry shortcake.

"Oh my god," she covered her mouth to prevent the moan of delicious flavor from seeping out. Brian chuckled, reaching over to grab the second fork.

"Is it that good? May I have a bite?" He asked, raising his fork. Alice nodded, pushing the plate towards him.

"Ok so about the whole comeback process..."

Brian quickly swallowed his bite, giving a thumbs up for the taste before wiping his mouth and responding.

"The company gives us a timeframe to work, we basically have a certain time period to work until we have to perform a mock show for the executive team and a panel of important people. If they like it, they announce the comeback and we have to rush to get everything fully recorded and have a stage presence worked out. For us it means we spend nearly 10 hours practicing the new material over and over again until it's perfect. It's more difficult for boy groups like BTS and GOT7 because they also have the dance moves to nail down. Thankfully, none of us can dance. When we aren't practicing we are filming material for the albums or interviews and doing a shit ton of photoshoots. Sometimes we have to bring our instruments with us to practice in between member shots, they are really strict on maintaining at least six hours a day in practice. Once a comeback is announced, we usually average about 6 hours of sleep a night."

"That's insane. How can everyone be ok with a schedule like that? I knew it was intense but that's crazy." Alice sipped her coffee, surprised Brian had already sweetened it for her.

"That's what training is for, to prepare us for all of that. There's not one idol out there that can't fall asleep during anything, most of us get our rest while getting make up." Brian takes another bite of the cake and smiles. "This is really good."

"Yea it is, good choice. I'll let you take me anywhere if the food is this good."

"Don't make promises, noona. I'll hold you to that," Brian waves his empty fork back to Alice.

"Don't threaten me with a good time," She decided to try and play a game of flirting chicken with him to see how far he'd take it.

Brian raised an eyebrow, his smirk wiping to reveal a genuine smile. "Are you saying I'm a good time, noona?"

Alice leans forward, slicing a piece of chocolate rainbow with her fork and holding it out towards Brian. He glances down at the fork she had been using, holding the piece of cake she now offered to him. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up for any romantic notions, but he really couldn't ignore the enduring way she chose to flirt with him. He leaned forward, slipping her fork over his lips while maintaining eye contact with her as he pulled his bite away. He touched his lips with a smirk and he saw the rouge brighten her face again. She looked down at her plate, biting her lip as she processed his reaction.

"You didn't answer me noona." Brian all but purred at her.

"You don't have to call me that, I was only joking." She mumbled, sipping her coffee.

"I like calling you noona though, it doesn't make you uncomfortable does it?" He asked, reaching over to grab her fork and repeat the favor for her as he held out a bite towards her lips. She groaned, looking up at him.

"I'm good, thank you. We can take the rest with us."

Brian sighed, standing up to retrieve to go boxes. He might have pushed too far, he could relax. He could wait until she was completely smitten with him before he asked her out properly.


	10. Bored Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually hate character guides, but I have one for this story on WattPad. If anyone has any interest in it- let me know and i"ll plug in in place. As it is in WattPad; the guide is placed between last chapter and this one.

Alice spent an unusual amount of time preparing for her first board meeting, taking extra care in how she presented herself to her colleagues and supervisors. When she stepped into her office first thing in the morning, Tatsuki was there shifting through more files.

"I am beginning to wonder if you count looking through folders as work or you just really misplace paperwork." She commented as she set her work bag down and took a sip of the coffee Dain had made for her.

"Look, it's not my fault everyone here has a backwards way of filing things. Everything is always handed to me in the wrong order and completely different from how we did things back at the Japan branch. If I handed you things they way they gave them to me, you'd have me fired and deported."

"Well as long as that's clear," Alice smirked as she walked over to her assistant's desk.

Tatsuki looked up at her with a glare before flinging a set of folders down towards her. "Board meeting is in two hours, I'm trying to gather everything you need to be aware of beforehand and you standing here watching me is giving me anxiety. Here are the notes from the last three months of meetings; I'll bring you everything else when I'm finished."

Alice raised an eyebrow at his remark but picked up the notes and turned back to her office. Finishing her coffee, she gave her full attention to the notes. Alice noticed the topics ranged from park attendance, revenues, and upcoming projects to birthdays throughout the company. In her previous experience, Alice learned quickly it was up to the head or chairman of sorts to dictate how the meetings went. When she needed to host a meeting, she would always ensure snacks and comfort were provided to relax all parties involved. According to the transcripts, the meetings never followed a guideline but more of a cut and dry method.

After an hour of dissecting the notes, Tatsuki knocked on her door carrying a binder of different colored folders.

"Ok, here's everything you will need. The last month's numbers in revenue and attendance, communications throughout the company regarding discipline, and detailed week by week plans to prepare for the spring events." Tatsuki pointed to each folder.

"Can you get with Jaehoon's assistant and try to arrange a brief get together before the meeting?" She asked as she glanced over the numbers.

"The meeting that's in 45 minutes and we have to leave in 30 meeting?" Tatsuki asked with a laugh. Alice narrowed her eyes, her nerves getting the best of her.

"Yes Tatsuki, that meeting. Have him come here and we can walk together, I don't care."

Tatsuki rolled his eyes, gave a big sigh and leaned over Alice's desk.

"Hey what are you-"

He held up a finger as he grabbed her phone and dialed a quick extension before conversing in Korean. He nodded, keeping his finger held in Alice's direction as he replied. With a smirk he lowered his hand and the phone before looking back at Alice.

"He will be here in 5, you're welcome." With that Tatsuki slinked back to his desk to prepare for the meeting and all he would require. Alice frowned at the man before looking back over the documents he had just handed her. It only took a moment before Tatsuki came back towards her caring a large black crossbody briefcase.

"He's older than you and even though you are technically his superior- his role is the same as yours so make sure you address him appropriately." Tatsuki stated as he sat across from Alice. Alice frowned and gave a quick nod before sighing and glancing in a mirror to check herself. A moment later and a tall, slim built man dressed in what could only be described as a typical businessman fashion knocked on the glass door to her office. Tatsuki glanced over at Alice before going to open the door.

The thin framed man held his head down as we walked in, giving a bow to Tatsuki before facing Alice.

"It is an honor to meet you, I am Choi Jaehoon." He greets with a bow and an extended hand. Alice, bows deeper and shakes his hand firmly with a grin.

"The honor is all mine, I am Alice Walton. Please take a seat, I want to thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice." She waves a hand at the chair in front of her desk, taking the seat across from him rather than behind the desk.

"I am grateful you asked, I was hoping to run into you before the meeting but time was not on our side. I wanted to thank you for selecting me as your interim, I assure you your spot is in safe hands."

Alice noticed how genineue he seemed, his body language slightly angled to face her with his limbs open to signifie his earnestness. Alice smiled, giving a gentle nod.

"I appreciate that, I must admit I would have liked more time but you impressed me most. If I may ask, do you have any goals during this time?"

Jaehoon smirked softly, impressed Alice not only stated she was impressed but went straight to his intentions.

"I was hoping to ask you the same, actually. If you would allow, I would like to speak candidly."

Alice nodded.

"I have no intentions of sustaining your position. My ambitions is to prepare the company and area for whatever you hope to achieve. Use me as the groundwork for the path you wish to create. I am sure you are aware I applied for your position, but please know I harbor no ill will or use this time for any personal gain. To speak frankly, Lotte World is my life and my passion. I only want what is best for the park and its growth. The board selected you and after researching you myself, I agree you are the best candidate. I am eager to assist you in developing this park to its peak performance."

"I am privileged you think so highly of me, please take care of me while we work together. As for my game plan, so to speak, my first goal will be to work on creating digital archives of opening and closing procedures. Paper gets messy and if documation goes missing someone undoubtedly will lose their job if a case gets brought up, it is safer for our cast to switch to something more modern." Alice smiled, reassured she picked an alley.

"I think that's an excellent idea. I will be happy to assist in making that happen."

"Ma'am, we should head to the conference room now." Tatsuki announced as he opened the door.

Tatsuki escorted the pair to the a large glass room where an assorted group of individuals stood around a long oblong table. Alice couldn't help but notice the lack of not only foreigners but also the lack of females standing around, by her count, she noticed only three. Alice frowned as the room fell silent after Tatsuki directed her towards a chair while everyone else immediately went towards their assigned seats.

With a deep breath, Alice gave a reassuring smile to her assistant as the meeting began...only she realized the language the chairman chose to present with was not in English as she had been relentlessly told they spoke, but in the Korean they knew she didn't understand.


	11. Aftermath

"Well that was a disaster!" Tatsuki exclaimed as he roughly shut the glass door to Alice's office. Alice hummed in response as she collapsed into the seat opposite of her desk. Tatsuki took the seat next to his boss, pulling out his yellow legal pad of notes from his briefcase and flipping the pages to his English notations. Setting his bag off to the side he looked over his notes with a grimace.

"It could definitely have gone better, I felt so underprepared." Alice sighed, resting her head in her hand as she waited for Tatsuki to pass her the notes. He froze, his sharp eyes narrowing in her direction.

"You felt underprepared? That's what that meeting left you feeling?" He questioned in a deeper tone than he usually used.

"I wasn't expecting such a big project right away, but I love challenges so it will be interesting."

"That wasn't a challenge they gave you- that was a pink slip. It's not that I have lack of faith in you, I've seen how you handle yourself already, but what they asked of you was meant to be impossible." He hissed, frowning at his notes.

"I can't afford to look at it like that; I don't have time. What was the deadline?"

"Two weeks," Tatsuki shook his head as he passed Alice his notepad. "You have two weeks to come up with an event or spectacular to be held in between our spring activities and our family day concerts. That's less that five months from now. Even if you were to come up with something, we don't have any idea on what budget they would provide, what marketing they would allow, or if we could even turn a profit. They filled out your resignation letter for you."

"Don't underestimate me just yet," Alice spoke softly as she read over the tiny transcripts Tatsuki had made for her.

Summer Months Filler Project

budget TBD- based on idea / limited marketing / little to no additional merchandise (can discuss if quick turnaround) / use resources already available / appeals to both local and international market

Alice sighed as she reread the same information over and over again. She had been tasked with such assignments in her old position, but it was usually deciding which idea she liked best. She wasn't an amatuer with coming up with concepts, but it had been awhile since she felt her job was at stake from it. She knew it was nothing personal, that it was purely a revenue making ploy to cash in on the months leading to their biggest event of the year.

"Listen, I don't doubt you for a second-but they showed their hand today with that stunt." Tatsuki said softly, his eyes creasing in concern. "To have the meeting held entirely in Korean made a statement."

"What do you mean?"

"It was disrespectful. To know you were the only one in that room who did not understand Korean, yet continuing without once using English was making a point. They won't make this easy for you, in fact they will do the opposite."

"I don't believe they would waste the time and money spent on bringing me here just to have me fail. Why would they do that?" Alice reasoned, tilting her head to the side to produce a small crack from her muscles.

"I'm not sure, but you need to be careful. You need to consider that you have no friends here."

"Tatsuki, I think you are being too suspicious. They had every right to hold the meeting in Korean and from what you said in the meeting, the translations weren't bad either. Unless you curbed the wording or something, I don't fear any ill will."

"You are far too kind for such a disrespectful act. Of course I curbed the translations, you were the only one who didn't speak both languages in there they would know if I had altered anything. I had half a mind to respond in Japanese at one point; but I knew you wouldn't appreciate that." He huffed, flipping his pages again.

"Thank you for not doing that, I can only protect you so much." She mumbled, rolling her hands over her eyes and resting on her forehead as she looked over at the young man. "Do you really think they meant to screw me over?"

Tatsuki groaned.

"I think you need to be careful and that you are going to need the mother of all Hail Marys to come up with something and quick."

"How can I train and plan something like this at the same time?"

"I'll look at expediting whatever training we can and go from there but I think you should start looking at the spring and family concert events and see what you can pull from those. I'll prepare some folders for you to look over the weekend. I would suggest looking at the marketing that has been done for the previous years and what the public sees and I'll obtain our information. Most the spring events are environmental and cultural whilst the family concerts are meant for the whole family to enjoy." Tatsuki goes to stand up, giving another loud and long sigh before placing his hands on his hips. "You need to have something to bring to the table by next week, at least a running idea so think hard ok?"

Alice waved her assistant off, biting her lip in deep thought. She had a crazy thought that would require a huge leap of faith from not only Lotte but also a significant amount of assistance from Dain and her connections.

"Hey Tatsuki, what about both? How about a Korean Pop Culture Art festival?"


	12. Soju

Alice spent the week researching the upcoming events and hoping she would be able to pull resources to create an event that could span not only for one weekend but for several leading up the to Family Event. She mapped at a course of action but became increasingly aware that no one in the office was willing to help, aside for Jaehoon. She spent the days leading up to the next meeting preparing a brief overview of what she hoped to achieve only to be skipped over in yet another Korean dominated setting. Not to be discouraged, she turned to her roommate for help.

"Dain! What am I supposed to do?" Alice exclaimed as she collapsed on to their couch. Dain giggled, wrapping her arms around Alice's shoulder and pulling her close.

"We need to get you top talent, what are you looking for with pop culture? I'm sure we can ask my brother for help." She played with a lock of Alice's hair, tucking it behind her ear.

"Well I thought we could do themed weekends leading up to the main event. We will have six weekends beforehand and can advertise during the weeks to garner exposure. We could do a drama weekend featuring some mini fan meetings with celebrities, an art weekend where we could display exclusive editions, a dance weekend with a special performance, and maybe three different music weekends. I just. . . .don't know any one in those fields here. I could take to some American contacts but it would defeat the point." Alice rolled her head on Dain's shoulder with a pout. Her friend smirked and tapped her cheek sweetly.

"Good thing my brother is connected and I'm dating an idol then, huh? Here let's do what we tell kids not to. Brainstorm and drink. I bought the good soju the other day. Jae and Brian are gonna come by later. Go changed into something cute and comfortable, grab some paper and pens and we will see what we can come up with by connecting some networking dots." Dain smiled peeling herself away from Alice and heading towards the kitchen to collect the drinks and glasses.

Alice chose a cute pair of pink shorts paired with an oversized white Banksy balloon girl shirt, deciding she would favor comfort over overtly cute. She grabbed her notebooks laced with event ideas and headed back to the living room. Dain had already set up an a variety of snacks and had three green bottles set up neatly in a row. Alice smiled, taking a seat on the floor in front of the table.

"Let's take a drink first for good work ahead!" Dain said presenting Alice with a large clear glass of alcohol. She smiled, gripping the glass and raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"I don't think that makes sense, but I'm here for it. Cheers to problem solving!"

They clinked glasses and tossed the cool liquid back with a shutter, grinning back at each other.

"So. Jae, he offered to talk to JYP you know. He wants to help and I think it'd be smart to use all your assets."

"I appreciate that and I was considering him for something...different. What is his summer schedule look like?" Alice asked, pushing the empty glass towards Dain who quickly refilled their glasses. Dain hummed, a small crease above her eyebrows forming.

"I'm not sure, I know they are supposed to do a comeback in September I think."

"Well, I was thinking of having an MC for the event and instantly thought of him."

"An MC? For all the weekends? Hmmm, we can ask him but I don't think that will be a problem to be honest. They let him host after school, so I think something of this level would be greatly appealing. You wouldn't want someone younger though? What market are you aiming for? Here, drink"

"Family," Alice states as she once again tosses the drink back without a thought. "I was thinking of having him be the main host and then a rotating guest host for the themed weekends. If not, he could always just host for one weekend."

"We can always ask, I like the idea. I would definitely want to give up my precious weekends to see that. What kind of music would you have?"

"Pop obviously, maybe one weekend could be groups, then another solo artists and rap." Alice coos as Dain pours her another drink. She could already feel the effects of the alcohol, but she chose to reach for bag of puff crisps to assist in soaking up the drink.

"Who would you say is your favorite rapper?" Dain asks folding her hands around her soju cup.

"Like what style?" Alice asks, tilting her glass and throwing back the remaining soju.

"There are more than one?" Dain questions, pouring Alice another drink.

"There's western, Korean, Japanese, Latin, then you go into hip hop so really what are you asking?"  
Dain rolls her eyes, finishing her drink before Alice opens another green bottle.

"I'm the one with the music background, shit. Korean, Korean."

Alice giggles, messily wiping her hair back as she sipped her beverage.

"Korean? Um, well for all-time I have a couple: Zico, Tablo, Bobby, Simon Dominic, Minho, oh and I really love Jackson Wang!" Alice said excitedly waving her hands.   
Dain runs a hand over her face, a red tint showing on her cheeks.

"No RM or Suga or even J-Hope? I thought you were rapline biased? How can you call yourself ARMY?" She exclaims, trying to drain out the noise of their front door opening. Alice, assuming Jae has arrived with Brian with more drinks and the pizza they had ordered, ignored the sounds and finished her fifth glass. Dain, the ever dutiful friend, instantly refilled her buddies empty cup. 

"Were you asking about BTS or Korean rap in general? They are very different!" Alice can feel the heat on her cheeks, producing a small pout as she looked around the table for snacks. Finding the bag of soybean flavored crisps, she immediately pulled the bag open and ate a few.

"How are they different? I thought you said Agust D was the best thing you'd ever heard!"

"No no no, BTS is in a league all their own. I'd classify their earlier stuff as rap but they kinda deviated away from the style itself. Doesn't make me love them any less, just not by definition rap really." Alice reasoned, popping another chip in her mouth.

Dain stifled a laugh, covering her mouth as she leaned forward.

"What do you mean it's not rap? What more do you need?"

Alice heard the shuffling of Jae and the boys taking their shoes off and having their own conversations, she went to turn around to acknowledge them before Dain gripped her hand expectedly. Alice shrugged, this time taking a sip of her drink leaving some in the actual glass to prevent Dain from automatically refilling it.

"I don't know, it's not edgy anymore. I had whole theories back in the day as to why the style changed but ultimately I think it was from their success and stature change. They were also really young when they started, so they were angrier. Look at Yoongi's mixtape, we never got a part two like we expected and RM switched gears entirely with his playlist and mixtapes. Don't get me wrong, I still to this day love their music to my core, but the style isn't what it used to be. I'm just gonna say Dark & Wild was my favorite era, but I know I'm kinda alone in that nowadays."

Even though Alice had left some soju in her glass, Dain had refilled it to the brim anyway. Dain lifted both vessels to Alice and signaled to drink. Alice rolled her eyes but obliged her needy friend. Setting her now empty cup down with a thud, Dain moved the hair out of her face with a shameful smile. Alice tilted her head in confusion as to why she was acting embarrassed among friends.

"Well, this wasn't the introduction I was planning on making!" Dain said, her cheeks a bright shade of pink now.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Are you feeling ok?" Alice asked, leaning forward to put a careful hand on Dain's forehead to check her temperature. Dain swatted her hand away and went to stand up, smoothing her short jean skirt down.

"Uh, hi I brought friends!" Jae said, shuffling into the room quickly.

Alice stood up, even though she was tipsy, she knew how important introductions were regardless of intoxication level. She turned on her heels, facing the direction from which Jae came from and froze. Instantly she could feel the alcohol leave her body, sobering her entirely as she stared at the two men before her. Both were of a leaner built, Jae still towering slightly over both. The second tallest wore tight black sweatpants paired with an oversized dark red hoodie and a black fitted face mask. The other, and shortest of the four men, wore baggy grey sweatpants with a black hoodie that reached down passed his hips with a thin black mask covering from his nose to his chin.

Alice immediately recognized the new additions, gulping as she stared at her two favorite idols.


	13. You Know BTS?

With a grin, Brian stares at his awkward and somewhat inebriated friend as she catches the eyes of the new idols in her living room. He decides to save her, albeit slightly, by raising his hand holding the brown canvas bag of bottles of soju in the air for attention.

"80% of the time, Soju makes introductions less awkward every time. I brought the drinks, some one get us glasses so we can catch up to the ladies." He instructs with a glance at Jae. Jae, very much amused at Alice for the indirect insult she had just given, cracks a smile and heads to the kitchen. Within a moment he was back with four additional large glass cups. He places them on the same table the girls had theirs on, reaching out a handle for a bottle in Brian's bag. Brian quickly pulled out a glass container, twisting the cap and handing the bottle to Jae's outstretched hand. He refilled the glasses, including Dain and Alice's before passing them out to everyone.

"To new friends and new beginnings!" Jae exclaims holding his glass up to cheers. The new additions lowered their masks below their chins and toasted. Alice directed her attention to the floor, distracting herself from the tattooed hands gripping one of the glasses. With a satisfied sigh the men set their glasses down for Jae to refill and repeat the process. Alice and Dain sat the second shot back, Alice shuffling closer to her friend in embarrassment. Dain giggles, messily gripping Alice close to her and grinning down at her.

"Silly. Let me introduce you although I'm sure you already know who they are! This is Jeon Jungkook and Kim Namjoon. Namjoon and I went to New Zealand together when we were younger!" Dain points to each man with their respective name. Jungkook removed his mask from his chin, balling it up to put in his sweat shirt pocket. He gives Alice a wide smile, exposing his notorious bunny teeth as he offered his hand for a shake which a slight head bow.

"Hello, hi. I am Jeon Jungkook, it is a pleasure to meet you." Alice vaguely recalled lifting her hand to meet his. He grinned even bigger as he gripped her hand and gave a soft but firm shake. Alice glanced at his hand, spotting the infamous thick inked letters A R M Y decorated around his knuckles he had gotten years ago. Ever the loyal ARMY, she spent months trying to figure out the other tattoos he had littered down his arm when it was first discovered he had them.

"Hello, I'm Alice, it's an honor to meet you. I wish I would have known ahead of time- I would have looked far more presentable."

"I told you to look cute," Dain insisted rolling her eyes.

"That's not the same and you know that!" Alice flares with narrow eyes.

Jungkook smirks, waving a hand to show he wasn't concerned or bothered by the elders attire. Alice sighed as she worked her vision to the other man who had yet to make eye contact with her. Alice was certain she dissolved any opportunity she could have had with the conversation he had walked in on. Mortified beyond belief, Alice chose to try and hope he would gloss over her words and assume she was the uncultured swine she was. However upon noticing the way his jaw clenched as he turned his head to face Alice- she knew that would not be the case.

"Hi, I'm RM- it's good to meet you." He gives a a polite handshake before quickly turning to greet Dain with a hug and grin. Instantly, Alice realized she would have to work hard if she sought to gain his favor. His stage name was RM, introducing himself as such in a personal and intimate setting as they were currently in, meant he would treat her professionally and nothing more. While Alice was an ARMY first, her keen business and common sense let her know she really had one option on moving forward with this interaction and that was playing on his terms.

Brian smirked at the introductions, happy it wasn't the Y/N moment he half way expected it to be after learning Namjoon had once been her bias. Brian clapped his hands together and gathered the attention of the oldest and youngest in the room and pointed to the drinks and television.

"Wanna pour us some drinks and we'll set up the TV for games, noona?"

Alice bit her lip and glared at him before nodding and doing as he asked. Brian and Jungkook walked over to the set and pulled out a gaming console that looked suspiciously like a PlayStation with a karaoke microphone and began to use a mixture of remotes to control the volume and screens.

"Was Guitar Hero or Rock Band ever popular here? I was obsessed with that growing up and I bet I could play better guitar than you, Brian!" Alice asked as she brought over the three drinks, passing off two to the boys.

"Do you play guitar?" Brian questioned with a grin.

"Guitar hero and playing actual guitar are two completely different things." Alice scoffed. She brought her drink to the center and waited to cheers the pair. Inside, she was relishing in the fact she was drinking with an idol she had once paid hundreds to see perform that now stood in front of her casually taking soju shots with her in her living room.

"I grew up in Canada so of course we had guitar hero, first of all and second: I think Jae has it somewhere and when I find it, you're on." Brian challenged clinking their glasses and downing the shot. Jungkook stood grinning at the interaction, itching to be apart of the strangely competitive friends.

"Do you play other video games?" He asked, sitting his drink down onto the low table and taking a sit on the floor.

"I play everything but MMO's, I'm too competitive for that and I'm a rough sore loser. What about you? Do you play?"

"Ah, not as much as I used to. I don't have time to play usually."

"I can imagine you barely have time to breathe."

"Do you want to play Guitar Hero, noona? Jae has his old copy and set here if you want." Brain offers as he looks back at Alice with a smile. Alice nods, desperate for a distraction. "Jae! Grab your copy of guitar hero! We are gonna play!"


	14. Moonchild

After many rematches it became abundantly clear Alice was **not** better at Guitar Hero than Brian and especially not Jungkook. To add insult to injury, Namjoon had remained quiet during their matches; conversing only in Korean to Dain or Jae and drinking soju shots in between.

Alice felt more than a bit buzzed when she needed to feel the cool air to sober up before she really did something embarrassing. She left Brain and Jungkook to play an extended concert setting, grabbed a bottle of the soju Dain had left out and glass and opened the patio close to her room and sat outside in one of the tiki wooden seat.

Alice stared out at the sky, feeling herself become more at peace with the chilly air and the beautiful skylight. She noticed the bright moon and smiled as she became more relaxed. The door rustled and Alice could hear it slide open.

A moment later and the tall outline of Namjoon quietly took the seat opposite of her. He held his own full glass of soju, tilting it back before placing the empty glass next to Alice's and her full bottle. He gave a sigh and followed her eyesight towards the moon and resisted the urge to smirk.

Alice stiffened, not wanting to look away from the moon in fear of embarrassing herself further with the rapper. She could see his jaw clench and unclench before he heaved and looked down at his hands.

"Namjoon. You can call me Namjoon." He said softly, his voice breaking the silent tension. Alice held her breath as she tilted her head to the side and dared a glance towards him. He kept his vision to his hands, but noticed her stare. "That was rude of me earlier, I apologize for my behavior."

Alice furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You did nothing wrong, it's me who needs to apologize." She mumbled, losing her confidence the more he wouldn't look at her. Namjoon shook his head and looked up, towards the moon.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You are allowed your own opinions. It's been awhile since I've heard anything negative or any criticisms towards my work and I reacted poorly. I'm ashamed how I responded." He tore his vision from the moon to settle on the American next to him. His eyes were soft and he wore a casual gentle smile to join his sorrowful words. "Music is expressive and opinion based and it was wrong of me to get offended by your opinions."

"Just the same, you are allowed to not like what I say. I have no expertise in the music industry so quite honestly, my opinion doesn't matter."

"You are ARMY though, your opinion will always matter." He muttered with a sigh breaking the gaze the two held.

Alice smirked, amused but such a sincere and genuine response she could only expect from BTS. She bit back a chuckle, feeling he might read her reaction wrong, but unfortunately due to her intoxication she couldn't refrain it for long. Namjoon looked back at her with wide curious eyes.

Alice held a hand up before waving it in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect the cheese to still affect me nearly ten years later. You never disappoint, that's for sure." She calmed herself, took a deep breath and smiled at him. She took in his appearance: the short military style haircut, the strong defined jawline, the glow his tanned skin gave off in the moonlight and Alice couldn't help but feel honored to even be in his presence. He was the definition of beautiful, of course so far every man she's met through Dain has been someone in the industry and was effortlessly talented and gorgeous.

"The what?" He questioned, scratching his head.

"The way you treat ARMY, it's so different from other groups and how you hold us on a pedestal we don't always deserve. I always thought I had extra space in my heart for BTS because it always felt like we had room in yours."

Namjoon slowly smiled at the ground, a hint of red creeping on his cheeks. He was embarrassed by his continued devotion to his fans, after everything they both had gone through he had never felt alone along the path.

The glass door slid open revealing Brian and Jungkook with huge grins reaching their eyes.

"I heard army and got triggered," Jungkook exclaimed and he pushed passed Brian and sat at Namjoon's feet cross legged looking up at Alice. He pushed up his right sleeve and held up his arm.

"How could you possibly hear that with the door closed?" Namjoon mumbled as he adjusted his legs to not hit the younger. Jungkook glanced back at him with a slight glare.

"Hyung! Here! I love our army, see!" He exclaimed as he held his hand up towards Alice. "I got these in '19. I have to get them touched up once a year, I just got them redone last week- it's already healed up and everything."

He pointed to the inked letters with fondness and he proudly displayed them to his new friend. Alice resisted the urge to ask about the other artwork, knowing it wasn't her place to ask or know. Jungkook bounced his hand towards her, wanting her to get a better look so she leaned forward and hesitantly reached out to grasp his hand. His palms and finger pads felt rough, but the backside of his hand was smooth and tender. She noted the work and smiled at the younger. 

"So were the rumors true, then? The other letters represent the members?" She asked. Considering he presented her his hand, she figured she was safe in asking at least that question.

"Yea, I don't get those touched up as often because they weren't happy I got them but I do that every other year." He nodded, once again showing off his bunny teeth before slipping into a smirk. "So you're army, huh? Did you have a bias?"

Alice patted his hand before dropping it and leaning back in her seat. Brian frowned at the statement, turning back to the apartment to gather more drink and pillow to sit on.

"That depends on the day, the era we're talking about, there's a lot of different factors." Alice replies with a smile.

"Ahh OT7?" Jungkook asked with a wide grin, the left side of his lips curving up.

"She's Rap Monster bias!" Brian states as he walks back into the patio. He gives a cheeky grin at the idols and fan before taking a seat against the patio railing. He twists the soju bottle and pours a decent size in everyone's cups before holding his out for a toast. Everyone lifts their glass and clinks them together before downing the drink. Namjoon and Jungkook hissed at the strong taste but set their glasses down for another. Jungkook smirked at Namjoon, slapping his leg for attention.

"Hyung! You're her bias and you were an ass, you should apologize! You can't treat army that way!" He exclaimed as Brian poured another shot. Namjoon frowned at his glass and waited until it was refilled before looked over at Alice again. She glared at Brian, refusing to look at the rapper across from her. Brian chuckled, tipping more alcohol into her empty glass. She sighed and shot the liquid back.

"I'd say rapline bias if anything." She mumbled. Brian's smile widened as she appreciated the blondes cheeks filling with blush of embarrassment.

"That's not what Dain said. She said he was your ultimate bias, after me of course."

If Alice wasn't so good at noticing body language, she would have missed the brief frown that appeared on both Namjoon's and Jungkook's face before being quickly covered by both a laugh and a shy smile.

"Ultimate bias, huh?" Namjoon said as he raised in eye brow in question. If Alice could wish for anything, it would be to die of embarrassment from such a direct question. She groaned, running her hand over her face to knock the hair that had fallen in her eyes.

"Where was I on the list?! I understand Namjoon being number one, of course but I had to be two!" Jungkook asked as he reached for the bottle of soju and refilled everyone's class. Instead of taking it as a shot, he took a tiny sip before letting it rest in his hands on the table.

"I can't answer that! This is mortifying." She pouted as she leaned over to grab her glass again.

"It's ok, noona- we know I'm number one- tell Jungkook where he stands!" Brian eggs on.

Alice throws him a death glare before sighing and once again downing the drink.

"You're my wrecker, ok?"

Jungkook's doe like eyes light up and his grin nearly covers his whole face. He gives a loud laugh than turned into a small giggle while slapping Namjoon's legs. The older hisses at the younger, rubbing the locations where he was smacked with a frown.

"Stop hitting me JK!" Namjoon exclaimed.

"Sorry, too busy with coming up with ways to overthrow you." He laughed but turning back to Alice. "Wait, so if he's your bias- why don't you consider him a rapper? He's the best in the industry."

Alice sighed and looked up at the stars again.

"He is, he is my favorite. I don't know how to explain it. Only way I can is to think is I preferred his first solo album to his second, just my preference."

"His first mixtape was really good, but all his music is really good. Hyung is very talented." Jungkook mumbled.

Alice took note of Jungkook's expression, guessing he was close to his limit already. Namjoon shook his head and clapped a firm hand on his shoulder, shocking the younger slightly. He grinned up at Namjoon.

"Yah, are you drunk already?" He asked, glaring at the man in front of him.

"I'm fine. I'm not a kid anymore- I know my limits."

"We should go back inside before it gets too cold," Brian states standing up and giving a wide stretch. Alice nodded, collecting the empty glasses and headed inside.


	15. Drinks on Me

Tatsuki Kimura worked his ass off for two weeks straight translating emails and letters so his foreign boss could have a fair chance in corporate South Korea. He knew she was being unfairly pitted against, treated with a level of disrespect she couldn't begin to comprehend, and her efforts were going to vain as she struggled with building a working concept. The language barrier had been hard enough, but Tatsuki hadn't anticipated her superiors working so actively against her.   
Tatsuki used every last ounce of brainpower to give her a running shot at this upcoming event.

Tilting his heavy glass forward, all but inhaling the bourbon he paid handsomely for down his throat, he released an exasperated sigh.

"Fuck man, is it really that bad?" His older friend clasped a strong hand on his shoulder with a jerk. Tatsuki chuckled as he wiped his face with the backside of his hand.

"Seojoon! You were supposed to be here an hour ago! I had to start drinking early!" Tatsuki exclaimed as he got to his feet to embrace his friend. He gripped him in a tight hug before reeling back with a grin.

"I'm sorry! I had to pick up the others. They should be back in a moment, they wanted to grab us drinks first. So how's the new boss?"

Settling back down at the table, Tatsuki shook his head and sighed. 

"She's great actually. They treat her like a fucking drama, but she's surprisingly resilient. They gave her this impossible task and have refused to speak English in the meetings and she's still planning a killer idea. How's the new movie going?"

Taking the seat next to his friend, Seojoon grinned with a big nod.

"It's fantastic, you should come by the set and see everyone. You know Inyoung would love to see you." He added a wink for good measure.

Tatsuki laughed, wrapping his hands around his drink again.

"I'm sure she would, but you know I have a one hit policy. She was great but I think she would expect more if I show up again and I'm exploring all my options right now. Who tagged along with you today?" Tastuki turned around trying to find who Seojoon might have brought with him. He usually had a crew he would cycle through to ensure he spent an equal amount of time with his friends because his schedule had been so unpredictable ever since he won the Oscar a couple years ago.

"Actor buddies, I don't think you've met them. Here they come now! Ya! Over here!" Waving he grabbed the attention of two tall and lean men holding two large mugs of beer each. One wore skinny black jeans with a black shirt and leather jacket; the other wore baggy green pants with a long white t-shirt and a brown overcoat. The one with the black leather jacket approached holding a hand with the beer out to Tatsuki with a grin.

"This is Choi Minho and that's Kim Taehyung, I worked with them after we worked on Kiss me, Heal me." Seojoon pointed to the leather clad man first before pointing to Taehyung in the brown jacket. Minho nodded to the drink in his hand so he could pass the drink off to give Tatsuki a handshake. Tatsuki quickly recognized his intention and accepted the drink and the soon offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm a big fan of your music too." Tatsuki added a bow with the handshake. Minho grinned, a small red tint creeping on the tops of his ears.

"Aish, thank you. It's an honor to meet a friend and a fan." He chuckled lightly.

"Nice to meet you!" Tatsuki rapidly bows at Taehyung before turning his attention back to Minho. Seojoon laughed loudly as Taehyung quickly passed Seojoon a beer and reaching out a hand to the now distracted Japanese man. Not used to that reaction, he coughed and brought the drink to his lips to play off the rejection.

"Tatsuki! You jerk!" Seojoon jested, clapping a hand on his friends back. The quick motion surprised Tatsuki and caused the beer to nearly spill, thankfully he was able to react quickly and prevent any spillage.

"What? What did I do?" He exclaimed with a frown.

"You know who he is, don't be rude!"

"What? Who? What?" Tatsuki questioned as he looked around the group of friends. The new additions sipped their beers, Taehyung not wanting to maintain eye contact with anyone kept looking around the room.

"Taehyung! He's better known as V from BTS, I shouldn't have to spell that out. He's kinda big deal."

Immediately Taehyung shakes his head and waves at Seojoon with a hiss. "No no no, don't act like that in public."

Tatsuki looks more closely at the younger man and nods in recognition.

"I'm sorry, you know how I am around idols! It's hard to tell the difference now a days!" Tatsuki exclaimed, reaching back to scratch the back side of his neck. Taehyung winced at the words, tilting his head forward in embarrassment. Seojoon and Minho had to grip the table to prevent themselves from falling over in laughter. Taehyung, resolved in embarrassment, lifted his beer back and downed the beverage with a large gulp.

"I'm switching to soju, I'll be back." He mutters before nodding at Seojoon and turning to the bar.

"Tatsuki! Go buy his round, that was rude!" Seojoon waves towards the bar. Tatsuki frowns looking between Minho and the elder.

"I don't mean it that way! Idols just change their hair and personality so much I can't pay attention. It's not like my opinion matters anyway, as long as I don't piss ARMY off I'm fine." Tatsuki huffs, sipping his beer.

"Taehyung isn't like that, and he's a good friend. Now be a good dongsaeng and go buy his drink as an apology. We will keep the table occupied."

With a huff, Tatsuki shuffles to the bar trying to locate the black haired man in the dim lighting. Taehyung leaned over the dirty bar top waiting for his drinks at the edge of the bar. Tatsuki sighed and approached the idol with a false smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean anything by it."

Taehyung lifted his eyebrows in surprise as he heard the man, turning to face him with a halfhearted grin.

"No, you're ok. You don't have to be a fan." He said sincerely as he waited for his drink.

"Doesn't excuse my behavior, you are a good friend of Seojoon and I've heard a lot of great things about you. Your friendship means a lot to him."

"Now you're just trying to make me blush, did he pay you?" Taehyung asked with a laugh. Tatsuki waved at the bartender, holding two fingers up and pointing to the bottle of vodka across from them. The bartender nodded, collected two large shot glasses and assembled over to pour the drinks. With a loud clunk, he sat them in front of Tatsuki before turning his attention to the idol next to him. Taehyung frowned at the shots before muttering his order of two soju bottles causing the bartender to disappear.

"Do you need a chaser?" Tatsuki shoves one of the glasses into Taehyung's shoulders. He rebounded quickly, twisting his hand to collect the glass before he was wearing it instead. He stared at the drink before looking back at the new friend with doe eyes.

"Pardon?"

"Can you take the shot like a man or do you want to wait to have a chaser?"

Taehyung huffs, sniffing the drink before shrugging.

"It's not really my brand of choice," still holding the glass. Tatsuki nods, downing his shot without a winch and reaching for the one ideally sitting in Taehyung's hand. Taehyung recoils, shoving the drink to his lips and chugging the harsh liquor attempting to hide his discomfort. "Didn't say that mattered."

Tatsuki grinned, nodding in approval.

"Another?"

"Maybe after our soju," Taehyung nods at the bottles the bartender placed in front of him. "Come on, when we return- act like I pissed you off. That'll really confuse hyung."

"Wait a second, I think I've seen that drama."

Taehyung turned back, his face breaking out in a full faced grin at the new friend.

"I think hyung was in it!" He added with a hearty laugh.

The two carried the drinks back to their elders, Tatsuki already in character by pushing past Taehyung to grab the seat next to Seojoon.

"You sure can pick em, hyung." He muttered, reaching over to collect the forgotten beer from before. Seojoon frowned, looking between the two.

"How on earth did this happen?" He mumbled back now glaring at Taehyung. He shrugged, opening the green bottle and pouring a sizable glass and taking the shot. He used the backside of his hand to wipe the residue of the contents from his lips.

"I said IU was better than Utada Hikaru and he took it very personally."

"Hey! Utada Hikaru is a Japanese national treasure and don't you compare her to anyone else!" Tatsuki exclaimed, pointing a harsh finger at the idol. Taehyung attempted to hold his posture, but upon noticing how serious the man was, easily broke and started laughing. Minh and Seojoon stared at the two before realizing the joke that had been played on them and shook their heads.

"Cut from the same raggedy cloth!" Minho chimed.

"Now that your childish antics are finished, what were you saying about work? You said a drama? I thought you worked in a different field of entertainment business now." Seojoon asked, sipping his beer and looking at Tatsuki.

"No no no, it's like a drama. I'm in the corporate theme park business now. My boss is American and she's being treated terribly- it's so backwards. They told her to come up with this huge event with basically no budget or advertising and she's got this great idea- but it seems impossible."

"How so?"

"She wants to do a Korean pop culture festival but to do that requires money to pay the artists." Tatsuki sighs into his drink.

"We did something like that, I can get you a meeting with one of my managers to see if she could take notes if you want." Taehyung offers, pouring another shot.

Tatsuki shakes his head and waves the offer off.

"She's too proud to take assistance like that, I appreciate it though."

"It's no trouble, Namjoon hyung is really obsessed with art and he has a lot of connections; Hobi hyung too."

"Wait, before we offer- you like her right? Is that what this is?" Seojoon asked with a smile.

Tatsuki blinks for a moment before rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"She is so not my type right now, I'm playing all angles right now. I like her as a friend and as a boss, she's a good person and doesn't deserve to have moved to a new country for a new job just to be sent packing in a few months. She's good at what she does and I wanna stand by her and see her succeed."

"Ok well if Korean pop culture is what you want, look no further: I'm right here." Seojoon states proudly, gesturing to himself. Tatstuki busts out laughing, covering his mouth with his hand.

"You think so fucking highly of yourself hyung; modest much?"

Seojoon furrows his eyebrows and glares back at him.

"Excuse you, I am a Korean national treasure and you would do well to remember that!" He shoved a finger in Tatsuki's face with a smirk.

"Let's save the shop talk and go clubbing," Minho says, chugging his beer with a sigh.

"Karaoke or bust!" Taehyung exclaims, rapidly powering a shot and downing it and repeating the process into his first bottle is empty.

Tatsuki shook his head and he reached for his phone to check the time, noticing a message blinking back at him.

Boss Lady Alice  
I can handle the training on Monday, I spoke with the lead and my trainer is English so I won't need a translator until later. I have a meeting at 1300, you don't have to meet at the office until noon. Enjoy your weekend, you deserve it.

Tatsuki grinned at the message, shoved his phone back into his pocket and clapped his hands at his friends.

"Karaoke it is! And I'm buying the first round! Drinks are on me!"


	16. The Setup

"How was training?" Tastuki asks, handing off a warm cup of coffee to his boss as she exits the elevator.

"Fantastic, I'm starting to think having you there messes with my street cred," she graciously accepts the coffee, taking a sip.

Tatsuki snorts, rolling his eyes as he opens their office door.

"Because you have so much," he mumbles before collecting some folders from his desk and walking back towards her. "Anyways, I've pulled a couple strings and may have a few leads on some entertainment for your festival."

Alice smiles, taking the seat in front of her desk to sit across from her assistant. She flips through the folder, her eyes catching a name and immediately looking back towards Tatsuki.

"How in the world could we get him?"

Tatsuki smirks, crossing his legs with pride.

"Seojoon is an old friend and he's willing to help as best he can for an affordable price. I've known him for years and met quite a few others; I've included them in there. This could actually turn out pretty awesome if we play our cards right."

"We don't have a choice- we have to succeed. My roommate; her boyfriend is an idol and he's willing to do some of the MC, but his schedule conflicts towards the end. Her brother is also in the music industry and I'm meeting him soon to see if he could assist as well."

"Oooo an idol. How fancy. Is he popular?" Tatsuki asks with a raised eyebrow.

Alice shrugs and looks up at him.

"Depends on your music taste. I knew of him and was a fan years ago, but I listen to everything. Except country- I am not a fan."

"Aren't you from the south? I thought it was a law or something," he jests.

"Laws were meant to be broken," she curls her lip up in a smirk.

"Oh ok! Go on with your bad self, Dolly. I promise not to take your man, I'm not Jolene. Get it? Cause it's a song? Oh, you wouldn't because you don't appreciate all forms of music, right." 

Tatsuki said with a tsk.

"Excuse you, I said I was a fan, not that I didn't appreciate it."

"I'm still not hearing a name or is he in a group?"

Alice rolls her eyes and sighs at her assistant. 

"He's the lead singer and guitarist in Day6, Jae Park."

"Ohhh ok, yeah I know who they are. They are really popular in the social media platform; their marketer is brilliant. Aren't they with JYP?" Tatsuki nods in approval of the band.

Alice thinks, then gives a short nod.

"Yes; I think so, my roommates brother works for a separate company though."

"We will need to arrange a formal meeting with JYP then so we can talk about contracts once we have a budget. If we get one, that is."

"I feel confident in this idea, Tatsuki. Should I be more concerned, in your opinion?" Alice asks softly.

Tatsuki lets out a long sigh, running his hand through his hair.

"The idea is solid and unprecedented, but we need more talent to agree before we go into that meeting. Now if you continue looking, I recently met a worldwide famous idol who is in a popular group. He's agreed to look into the opportunity of using his talents or if nothing else, asking for assistance in those who could. Apparently his group did this big art thing a couple years ago and it was widely successful. One of the members is close with a couple artists as well and would be willing to act as a go between to help. That could help with the art week you proposed ," Tatsuki ends with a reassuring smile.

"How do you know so many people in the industry?" Alice questions, looking up from the folder.

"I wanted to be an actor in college originally, and my older sister works for a set design and production company. When she first started, she worked a lot internationally and during breaks I'd crash with her wherever she was at during that moment. South Korea is known for their dramas so she lived here for about two years. I would make money by being an extra or playing a small support role for whatever drama or production she would be working on at the time. It was good money and good for my career and I got to meet some pretty awesome people. I even got an internship as a production assistant thanks to her connections and that's where I met Seojoon. He obviously got pretty famous, but he's always been pretty down to earth. I've met most of my so called celebrity friends through him and my sister."

"You are a man of many talents," Alice mumbles as she looks back down at the folder. Tatsuki has been kind enough to include what the artists are known for as well as possible schedule conflicts.

"You are very fortunate to have me, yes. Now about that last name on there: Kim Taehyung. He's from the idol group BTS, and I've done a little research into what they can bring to the table and honestly they could be your end all be all. Your Hail Mary if you will. Their ARMY, that's what their fanbase is called-"

Alice chuckles quickly, covering it with a cough, causing Tatsuki to pause mid conversation and hold a finder up before gliding out of the office. A moment later, he returns with a clear cup filled with water and a small liquid pouch. He places both in front of his boss and waves at them.

"Please keep your health in check ma'am. I realize I'm more talented than you expected but I can't pull this event or even this meeting off without you so please finish both. That's red ginseng, mix it in your water and take one with you tomorrow too. I'll grab you one before you leave. Now as I was saying, ARMY stands for adorable representative mc for youth, and they hold an incredible amount of presence in social media. If we are able to utilize BTS, we are almost guaranteed a successful event. Taehyung spoke about how a few of the other members have art connections, so that is a possibility to extend even further. I haven't reached out to him yet on gathering those connections because I wanted your approval first. Do I have permission to proceed?" Tatsuki folds his hand in front of him, awaiting her response. 

Alice, having mixed the powder into her drink and stirring it with a swirl of the cup, tilts the cup back and gulps a good sized portion of the water. She smiles at her assistant at his thoughtfulness in not only asking her approval but also for his concern for her health. She uses that to distract her from him explaining who and how beneficial having BTS would be, considering her recent encounters with the leader and her long tenure as ARMY. 

"You are free to pursue all opportunities pertaining to this project, Tatsuki. I will say, I have also recently met two members from BTS but considering the circumstances I didn't think it was appropriate to talk business so I'm not sure where that leaves me." 

"Not appropriate circumstances? What the hell were you doing?" He asks with a huge smile growing and a glint in his eye. 

"Nothing like that!" She scolds with a quick glare. "They are friends of my roommate and they came over the other night. We were already drinking and I might have said something insulting at first but it all worked out, I think. We shook hands at the end so I think that was positive." 

"I can't leave you alone, can I? Was it a mistranslation or something? Are you finally learning Korean?" Tatsuki laughs.Alice frowns, exhaling a sigh and shaking her head.

"No, it was music related. I know who BTS is, I mentioned I liked all forms of music and k-pop is included. I was talking to my roommate about all the different Korean rappers I like and embarrassingly went on about how I don't consider BTS rap anymore and of course it was Namjoon who happen to fucking walk in. I have the worst luck with introductions."

The grin grew on Tatsuki's face, reaching all the way to the bottom of his eyes nearly blurring his vision. He chuckles, covering his mouth to attempt to suppress his laughter. 

"I think ours went well, but then again I don't think you were drinking. We need to get drinks, it's actually highly encouraged to go drinking with your employees. What does it say about you to have gone nearly two weeks without taking me drinking? I'm insulted, I should tender my resignation." 

"Oh hush. You need me, you said it yourself." Alice smiles. 

"Really though, if someone like Jaehoon offers to take you to drinks after work, you shouldn't say no. It has to do with team bonding and getting to know coworkers. I'm actually surprised he hasn't asked for a lunch yet. Maybe we should get ahead of that and see if he's available tomorrow. I'll look it up for you. Anyways, as you were saying. You met one of the members? Do you think you smoothed things over enough to consider using him as a resource?"

Alice frowns again, biting her lip in thought.

"I don't know, I could probably talk with Jungkook, but it wasn't like I walked away with their numbers or anything. I'll ask my roommate and see if we could meet up again."

"By Friday right?" Tatsuki asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, I'll message her now."

"Thank you. I'll move forward on a few others and see what meetings we can grab. I've already spoken to the manager at the attraction you were getting trained at Thursday and told them you would not be present. I'm booking your meetings that do so just be prepared." Tatsuki turns, sitting at his desk and immediately getting down to business. 

Alice smirks, picks herself up from the chair across from her desk and takes the seat at it. She unlocks her draw and pulls out her cell phone to text Dain on getting back in touch with the rapper. She wasn't keen on how Tatsuki represented them, but she understood that couldn't be ARMY in this situation and she had to consider them as a very valuable resource. She would ensure they wouldn't feel used and honestly, she hated being in this position but at the same time it would genuinely benefit both parties if this worked out. 

It has been nearly two years since they made a collective comeback and Alice couldn't help but admire the irony if they have their first big comeback after their completed military services at a Lotte Event almost tailored to them. She remembers when they announced their first ever break back in 2019 right after their performance at the Lotte Family Concert, so it would be only fitting to have their comeback at a different event. As an ARMY, she started to get excited at the idea but as the event planner she desperately needs to maintain focus. 

She pulls out her phone, noticing a message from both Dain and Brian. 

Dain: Hey! wanna do dinner with the boys after work?

Ultimate Bias: I am in need of coffee. I'm running past your office if you want, can I drop something off?

Alice smiles at Brian's text, checking the time to see if it was still an option. He had only texted 30 minutes ago, maybe he would still be able to...no. She needs to text Dain first. If she replied to Brian first, she would no doubt get lost in a text exchange and that would only push back Dain's message which she really needed to answer. 

Alice: which boys?

Instantly the blue dots of a reply appeared on Dain's end. 

Dain: Jae, Wonpil, and maybe Brian 

Of course Alice couldn't get so lucky as to have another chance at "randomly" meeting the idols, but she enjoyed the boys company just as much. She goes to type her acceptance when Dain starts to type again. 

Dain: and Namjoon. 

Alice grinned and felt her face fill with heat at the thought. She feels like she is using her luck too dangerously, but she can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth at this point. 

Alice: Yea, of course. Think I could talk about my event with them and not get judged too harshly?

Dain typing...

"Has she said anything yet?" Tatsuki calls out. 

"I'm literally asking her right now, will you relax?" She hisses back. 

"No, I asked you ten minutes ago. Hurry up."

Alice looks back at her phone with a smile growing. 

Dain: why else would I have invited them to dinner? 😇

Alice: an angel, a saint. I will name my first child after you.

Dain: no thanks, one Kim Dain is enough for this generation 😇😇

Alice couldn't hold back her laughing, bursting at the seams at her roommate. She never should have mentioned she was Namjoon bias to her. 

Alice: am I too late?

Ultimate Bias: never, what can I get for you?


	17. Tequila in the Details

"Please wear something sexy!" Dain exclaims, barging into Alice's room. Alice looks over her shoulder at her roommate with a frown. 

"I have to speak with Namjoon about business, I can't look like a hoe Dain." 

Dain pouts, stomping over to Alice and pushing her to the side to look in her closet for her. 

"I didn't say hoe, did I? I said sexy, and of course you can. It's expected you look presentable, but don't show up looking like you are ready to sign a contract. This is a friends slash business dinner, have fun a little. What about this?" Dain holds up an oversized red sweater that went almost to Alice's knees. She places it on the bed and pulls a horizontal striped black and white dress Alice had bought recently. Dain lays the dress on the bed and tucks it behind the sweater and smiles at Alice. "Put the sweater on top of the dress and wear those cute black ankle boots. Match it with your black peacoat and wear your hair down, but off to the side." 

Dain smiles at Alice, nods at the outfit and lets her friend get ready. 

Alice blinks at the turn of events, looks down at the outfit laid out for her and shrugs as she prepares herself. 

Thirty minutes later and Alice emerges from her room to a patiently waiting roommate sitting on the tall kitchen counter. Dain chose black leggings and a simple, yet slim fitting, yellow corset dress complete with a bright matching beret. She smiles at Alice and hops off the counters and collects her purse and heavy brown coat and shuffles to the door. The pair trade their house slippers for their evening shoes and head to the parking garage to meet the boys for their outing. 

"Are they gonna meet us there?" Alice asks, opening the passenger side door to Dain's car.

"Jae, Brian and Wonpil are, but we are gonna go collect Namjoon now. He lives in Hannam too, he's only a few buildings down." Dain reverses the car and carefully pulls out of the narrow garage, turning right instead of their usual left to work. 

Alice feels bubbles collecting in her throat at the thought of being enclosed with Namjoon in a car for any extended period of time. 

"Don't bite your lips, you'll ruin your lipstick." Dain scolds, looking over at her nervous friend. "And just treat him like you do Jae, I know he's a big deal to you but he's just a guy. He's not RM, he's Kim Namjoon our friend. Forget everything you think you know about him and just let it be natural, like how it was with Brian and Wonpil."

Alice sighs, nodding in agreement. 

"You're right, I'm just so fucking awkward." She mumbles. 

"It's part of your charm," Dain giggles as she slows to take a right turn. Alice notices Namjoon standing outside of one of the taller buildings in the complex. Baggy jeans, oversized jacket with the hoodie up and a baseball cap to throw anyone off him being a usually well dressed idol. Dain rolls to a stop in front of him, but he doesn't look up from his bags as he struggles with shoving a notebook inside. Dain waits a moment before honking her horn at the unresponsive friend. His attention jerks up and he waves a hand apologetically before opening the back passenger door and sliding in. 

"Sorry, were you waiting long?" He asks, pulling his seatbelt on.

"No, we just rolled up." Dain replies as she zips through the complex back towards the city. 

"I'm sorry I made you wait." Namjoon mutters as he successfully closes his bag and sighs, looking up at the girls in front. "Are we meeting them at the restaurant?" 

"Yes, I hope you are in the mood for tequila!" 

A short drive later and Alice finds herself in a somewhat sketchy looking restaurant deep outside the city of Seoul. Wrapped around a large tacky tile table, she yet again sits between Brian and Wonpil across from Dain, Jae and Namjoon. 

"Dos margaritas, por favor!" Jae exclaims as soon as the young waitress approaches their table. The waitress, seemingly unamused with Jae's loud attics, nods and looks at everyone else for their drink order. One by one, the order is the same until it's Namjoon's turn to order. 

He fumbles with Spanish before settling in Korean that he wants a beer until Dain reacts. 

"Namjoon-ah! I said tequila- you will get tequila!" She corrects. Namjoon looks at Dain, wide eyes and a small pout. 

"I can't drink too much, I work tomorrow."

"You work every day, tonight you drink tequila with friends!" 

Namjoon huffs, and nods at the waitress. "A margarita then, please."

Alice smiles, knowing they are keeping their conversations in English for her benefit. 

A moment later and the waitresses walk over with a large tray of festive glasses filled with different colored drinks. 

"So Alice, how is that new event going? Have you worked on getting any new artists?" Brian asks, taking a sip from his frozen beverage. 

"My assistant has a few leads and I've got my Korean artist friend to agree to donate some of his time if it's not in the budget. I'm flying blind until it gets approved." Alice replies with a sigh.

"What are you trying to do?" Namjoon asks as he frowns at the amount of liquor in his drink. 

Dain looks over at her friend, winks and chugs her margarita on the rocks. 

"A pop culture event of sorts. I have to bridge two popular festivals and I have no idea what or if I get a budget AND it has to be practically laid out before it gets approved."

Namjoon's frown deepens, turning his attention to the foreigner across from him. 

"That sounds like a usual business plan though, were you unprepared for the situation?" 

Alice blinks, fighting the air her throat caught in the quiet gasp she muffs. She smirks and takes a long gulp of her margarita.

"Well, I was made aware of this expectation less than a week after moving here and it was neither listed nor mentioned anywhere in the description of the job. I've developed this Korean pop culture concept by its appeal to a family audience, considering the end result will be the infamous Lotte Family Concert." 

Namjoon nods, reaching for his drink again and taking a generous sip. 

"I'm familiar with that concert,"

"The meeting she was told to come up with this was all in Korean and they made extra effort to exclude her in the rest of the meetings. It's deceitful and I'm honestly ashamed to promote her to move here so vigorously." Dain rebukes, pushing the friend next to her. Namjoon chuckles and ticks his head to the side in response. 

"If she wasn't prepared, she shouldn't have moved to a new country. I've been told songs I've spent months on were absolute crap and I had to start over. I've been yelled at for album concepts and had them scrapped, I have no doubt she worked hard to get here; but she has to be prepared for failure right off the bat."

"I'm not afraid of failing," Alice interrupts. "I welcome failure, it teaches me what not to do. What I am afraid of is walking into a situation I literally cannot win. If the cards are stacked against me, it doesn't matter what I come up with. I will still be wrong." 

Brian and Wonpil both reach out to touch Alice in a comforting manner but hesitate, waiting to see if she needed it. Brian bites his lip and decides to be bold and places a hand over Alice's. She looks in surprise at her friend and smiles in return. She nods assuringly before draining the last of her beverage. Namjoon coughs awkwardly and looks over at Dain for guidance. She glares at her friend, furrowing her eyebrows and adding a narrowing glance. 

"I apologize to have come across so harshly, what is it you hope to achieve with this event?" 

Alice sighs, waving her hand at the attendant for another round for her and a few of the others. 

"A Korean pop culture event every weekend. I hope to explore dramas, music, dance and the actual arts as well. I'm working on securing talent at this moment. Jae has volunteered to host three of the five weeks and I have another lead on an actor who might be willing to host for a weekend. It's really the final week I am struggling with."

"I've got a few contacts in dance I can ask about," Brian says softly with a smile. Alice grins and nods at him. 

"I'd appreciate any help I can get." 

Namjoon sighs, running his fingers in the salt on his glass. Wiping his hand on his napkin, he looks over at the American.

"I can help too, I've got friends in all of those fields and no doubt would they be willing to help me. We did a similar thing back when 7 came out, but it was a bit different. We mostly reached out to international artists then, but between myself and some of my friends: I'm sure we can cover some of the entertainment. When is the family concert again? We used to perform every year and with everyone back from service; I'm sure there are talks about doing it again. I'm not promising anything, I don't have that authority or power but maybe we could host the last week. It's around the same time we'd be due for a comeback anyway." 

Alice blinks; the oxygen escaping her again as she can barely believe the proposition. It is everything she can possibly dream of and here it is being offered to her by her bias. 

Dain squeals in excitement, wrapping an arm around her friend in joy. 

"Namjoon-ah! You angel! How kind of you to offer! Of course Alice will gladly accept!" 

After the waitress brought their refills, Jae signals everyone to toast by raising his glass. 

"To forged friendships through art and the love that binds us all together!" He proclaims, knocking each glass.

"Feeling poetic, are we?" Dain mumbles into her drink. Jae rolls his eyes, pulling her closer to him and kissing her head. 

"Can't help it when I'm with you babe!" 

An hour passes and it soon becomes apparent Alice will need to drive her roommate home, along with the idol she came with. 

"I really need to get my license..." Namjoon sighs as he reaches down to assist in lifting Dain up to her feet. She struggles to remain still and decides to lean against the wall while her friends get ready. 

Alice smirks, remembering how he was the only one in the group to not have a license and she is happy to know that that wasn't a lie or had changed over the years.

She wraps an arm around her friend and begins to guide her through the restaurant. She stops behind Brian who is chatting with a tanned, chiseled man sitting at a table with a young western girl. 

"It's nice to meet you, I know hyung from work!" He says excitedly, shaking the girl's hand. She's beautiful with fair skin and soft eyes, smiling warmly and greeting Brian. Alice wasn't able to catch the name but her attention was quickly grabbed from the idol sitting across from the woman. Alice immediately grips Dain tighter as she recognizes the man and immediately focuses on the ground.

"How in the world do these people know everyone, Dain I swear you will be the death of me," she mumbles at her friend. 

Choi Seung-hyun grins at Brian and the woman's introduction. He notices Alice struggling to hold her friend and reaches out to Brian to relocate so she could pass. Brian, noticing her struggles, immediately leaps forward to hold Dain's shoulder. 

"It was great seeing you, hyung! And very nice to meet you, Shannon! I hope to see you around the office." He rushes as he helps navigate Alice towards the entrance. Namjoon, trailing behind the pair waves with a small bow at the infamous idol and lady before following out the door. 

"Guess you need a ride home?" Brian asks with a smile. 

Alice sighs, biting her lip and nodding.

"Would you mind? We have a spare room," she offers.

"It would be my pleasure!"


	18. A Bargain  (18)

Sometime later and Brian pulls into the girls complex and looks back in the rear view mirror to check on the condition of both ladies. Alice is typing away on her phone with a sleeping Dain resting on her shoulder.

"Alice, it's still early. Would you want to see what details we could work on while we both are able? I'm not sure I will have the time to spare before Friday and I'm sure you'd like to be as through in your plans as possible." Namjoon asks, having Brian's same thought of checking on the girls. Brian resists the frown he desperately wanted to express and decides to pay closer attention to the traffic stops. 

Alice looks up from her phone, blinking at the idea before nodding. 

"That would be amazing, would you really be able to help me?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't." 

"I will park at your place then," Brian mutters to himself as he pulls into the garage.

A few moments later Alice is escorting the duo of guys and her inebriated roommate into her apartment. 

"Make yourselves at home, house slippers are by the door in the closet. The red ones are Jae's but there should be a few others in the packaging." Alice states as she drags her friend past the kitchen, through the living room and into her room. Alice always admired Dain's sleek decoration of a room. Minimalist to a whole new level with no electronics except an alarm clock to blink out in the gray and white room. 

Alice removes Dain's shoes, tucks her in and carries her shoes back towards the entrance. She replaces her evening wear with her own house slippers and carries Dain's to leave inside her room for when she wakes up. 

Namjoon had traded his name brand sneakers for a fuzzy pink pair of shoes, while Brian chose the sleek satin black pair Alice originally bought for herself until she found the yellow Sally pair she was very fond of. Namjoon settles onto the couch, sighing with a smile. Brian waits until Alice returns, wanting to ask how he could help before he got comfortable. 

"Do you boys want anything to drink? We are always fully stocked here, water? Beer?" Alice asks as she walks back into the kitchen. 

"A beer would be great, thank you." Namjoon replies as he digs through his bag to pull out his tattered notebook from before. 

"Brian? Would you like anything?" 

"Water is fine, I can grab it."

"No no; I'm pretty certain that goes against some kind of policy or custom. Take a seat and I'll bring it over." Alice smiles at her friend before pointing towards the living room. Brian nods and does what she asks, only sitting on the floor instead of the couch. Namjoon looks over at him curiously, considering the size of the couch and why his friend chose to sit on the ground instead. 

Alice returns with the drinks, taking the seat opposite of Brian and next to Namjoon.

"What art fields do you have covered already?" Namjoon asks, taking a modest sip of his beer. 

"Confirmed wise, only a few. I have a popular Korean artist who agreed to do a live production of a piece and donate some works for display. Heenang Heesoo Kim, he's more of a contemporary artist- a self-proclaimed normal life artist. I've known him for a few years and he's been a real plug into the market. I would say he's probably my only real confirmed talent." Alice replied with a sigh. 

"Kim Heesoo is phenomenal, I'm surprised you convinced him to participate." Namjoon mutters with an impressed nod. "So you need more live entertainment?

"I have some great connections with dancers," Brian says softly. Alice smiles and nods a thank you to him. 

"I have connections with everything- if I'm being honest. You get the luxury of being picky if you want. What style of artist, I don't know if our tastes are similar or not. What branch of music are you looking at?" Namjoon starts to scribble in his notebook names of people he could consider. 

"Ideally the theme is pop culture so the style of art shouldn't be too conservative, however I would like to include all forms interested. I would love for live pieces that could be represented in various mediums and platforms; similar to how you promoted 7 if I'm being honest."

"Was that your inspiration?" Namjoon smirks, taking a larger sip of his drink.

Alice shakes her head, sipping her own beer as well. 

"No, I am not concerned with conveying a message as you were. I wish for the artist to choose their platform, I have no overall concept such as your portrayal of ego and shadow or the journey to self. I simply want to bring a beautiful and respectful representation of South Korean Pop Culture."

"I see, well I never doubted you were ARMY, but I am proud you are a well versed one." He hums in his notebook. Alice thinks better of replying; not wanting to out herself as the mildly recovering Jungian addict she had become during their stint in self discovery years before.

"It was a good album," Brian agrees.

"Right, well I have half a dozen artist friends I can introduce you to, but I'll send you their works before so you can decide who you'd like to meet. As for music, my answer is pretty much the same."

"I think if I managed to get BTS to attend, I would have no issues finding other artists. Plus, with Dain's connections I think music would be the least of my concerns. Your art contacts would be amazing."

Namjoon nods, downing the last of his drink. 

"I'll speak with management tomorrow and see what I can do. Well, I think I'll head out if that's ok. I can walk- it's not that far. I didn't realize it was past midnight already." Namjoon stands and packs his bag before holding a hand. Alice, confused by the gesture, ignores it as she stands up to walk with him towards the front door. Namjoon shuffles in putting his shoes back on before once again holding his hand out. Alice takes it, giving a soft handshake. "We should exchange numbers as well so I can contact you." 

Alice feels her face burst with flames at the mere sentence before nodding and pulling out her phone to find her number again.

"Perfect, I'll message you my Kakao info tonight since my number changes pretty frequently. Thank you for having me out, I will talk to you soon." Namjoon gives a small bow before walking out the door, leaving Alice alone with Brian. 

"I feel like I should walk him home or something; what if he gets attacked walking home?" She mutters to her self, biting her lip in concern.

"He's a big boy, Alice. He doesn't live that far. He's also the type to text when he gets home, so you'll know if you need to worry in 30 minutes. Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

Alice smirks back at her friend before nodding.

"Only if you finish the bottle of soju Dain couldn't polish off the other night, with me." 

"Two things: I'm highly disappointed in your friendship that you would allow her to not finish it and when did you get so bossy, noona? You gotta be careful with me or else I'll get a complex." He wiggles his eye brows in jest as he walks back towards the fridge to collect the bottle in question. 

"What did I tell you about hosting in my own home?!" Alice scolds as she pushes the younger to the side. "Move! Let me host damnit!"

Brian shields himself from the assault Alice attempts to inflict on him with a dazzling smile. 

"So violent!"

"Go pick a movie. Be as useful as you are pretty!" She exclaims, pulling out the open bottle and another unopened just in case. 

Brian laughs, his eyes going wide with his grin reaching the creases. 

"You think I'm pretty?!" 

"Brian! Movie, please." 

"So mean to me noona," he mumbles with a pout. With a lopsided smile he retreats to the living room to begin his search for video entertainment.

Alice returns with two glasses and takes a seat on the couch while Brian is still trying to figure what to watch. 

"Disney movies are always a good choice." Alice offers as she opens the half empty bottle. 

Brian looks back at her and rolls his eyes. 

"You would say that. Alright, fine. Marvel, cartoon, or Star Wars?"

"I'm always up for a cartoon. What about Lilo and Stitch? It's been years since I've watched that." Alice suggests, pouring a glass and holding it out for Brian to take. 

"Let me finish my water first, that glass is yours." He counters, reaching for his bottle of water and chugging the drink with a smile. "I'm good with that."

Brian sets up the advanced sound system Jae had installed before settling back next to Alice on the sofa and hitting play. Within moments, he's distracted from the movie by Alice. He watches the colors of the film dance across her pale face and reflect off her glasses. Smiling to himself at the sight, he reminds himself to not be creepy and not be caught staying at her while her attention was clearly not on him but on the movie. He likes that about her. He likes how focused she becomes when her interest is peaked and how she seems to devote all her energy on paying attention. Biting his lip and giving a soft sigh he reaches for the bottle to pour himself a drink when Alice's hand shoots forward to knock his away. 

"We just went over this. Please let me, just once. It won't kill you or take away your man card." She says pouring him a generous portion. She holds the drink out to him and smiles. 

Pausing for a moment to appreciate her efforts, and to see if she was gonna add any more comments, he takes the drink and nods. 

"Thank you. You have tonight, no promises for the future."

"We will see about that." Alice replies, playfully moving just a bit closer to Brian.

A few moments later and Alice felt her phone vibrate, but she was far too comfortable pressed against her human heater to check it. Brian, not wanting to move or adjust either smiles before he hesitates in wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 

"See, I told you he'd text." He mutters, silently excited she didn't move to check.


	19. Shot in the Dark (19)

Alice gulps as she walks back into her office after the big meeting. Thanks to Tatsuki, she spent the day before working on an award winning presentation that was so beyond detailed there was no way she could get rejected and yet...why did it feel like she had been?

"I don't understand what just happened." She mutters as she looks back at her assistant. 

"You got approved, but you won't be getting any credit. They want Interim Choi to begin the process while you finish your training. I think it's time we talk about the elephant in the room." He exclaims, carefully placing his folders down on her desk. 

"Which one?" Alice mumbles, running a hand through her hair as she leans against the side of her desk. 

"The one where you asked for this training and they are punishing you for it. I think you need to reconsider getting trained at every level and start doing the job they hired you for. It's going to kill you if you keep trying to do both. I respect why you want to, but it will do you no favors if you continue to allow your role be played out by interim Choi." 

Alice sighs deeply, closing her eyes for a moment before walking over to the window. She stares down at the foreign city she now calls home and feels the slight amount of heat the sun produced on the glass. Closing her eyes again, she considers her choices. 

Integrity was the lynchpin in her methods of leadership, and while she wasn't making much progress with the language- the cast seeing her preform the same roles as them would translate for her. She wasn't above them, she detested the idea of leading that way. She prides herself on never asking someone to do something she wouldn't do herself. Without that visibility to the Cast, how could they trust her? Why would they? She has delayed with various styles of adversity in the struggle to move up in her career but this path, was always the most successful for her. Can she still be respected and followed if she didn't provide that right away? First impressions were so important and she wasn't finished meeting everyone yet. She couldn't ignore her situation though, she needed to focus on this task above all else and worry about taking the reigns afterwards. 

"Alright. I see your point. I would have had five weeks left, please call each department and I want their most senior and lowest leadership levels here for a mandatory meeting with me. Divide the department's up for a each day. Tell them I expect the meeting to last anyway from two to six hours and I want zero exceptions. I will conclude my training by beginning of next board meeting. Please also request a meeting with Interim Choi at his earliest convenience, preferably first thing Monday morning."

Tatsuki grins, quickly grabbing a pen to write everything down before walking over to her. 

"This is the right thing, we can always around a costume day of sorts once a month to preserve your image." 

Alice smiles at the idea and nods, looking back at the bustling city below.


	20. Meeting of the Minds (20)

"Would you want to go to a party with me tonight?" Dain asks, barely knocking on Alice's door before coming in. Alice, midway through taking her blazer off, looks over at her friend in confusion.

"A party? What kind of party?"

"Something my brother is hosting. I figured it would be a good way for you to meet him and quite a few others in the business. It's his official promotion party so a lot of idols are going to be there. Pretty much everyone who could make your event a hit will be in attendance."

"If you can help me decide what to wear, sure."

Dain claps excitedly and goes to scavenge through Alice's wardrobe.

Deciding on a galaxy print skater dress Alice picked up recently on a whim, Dain pairs it with a more traditional pair of Mary Janes.

"So I know you give me a lot of shit for never preparing you so consider this your heads up. Everyone might be there. And when I say everyone, I mean every one. All those idols you used to talk about, current idols, big wigs in the business, actors, dancers, anyone who is anyone is going to be at this thing. You've heard of JYP, right? Well my brother is the modern day equivalent without the past idol history. He's very well loved and hated in the business so these things can get massive. He's very excited to meet you though and he wants to introduce you to a few friends of his too. Have fun and try your best to be business casual only when you have to be otherwise get shit faced! Brian and Jae will be here shortly so chop chop!"

Alice frowns, shaking her head at her friend's warning before getting ready. 

Roughly two hours later and Alice is standing in front of a giant western style mansion, complete with stone walls and moss coverings. Dain chose an understated black mini dress with some wild neon green accessories and a pair of pumps to match. She quickly grabs Alice's hand to direct her towards the entrance. Half a dozen guards in black suits and ear pieces scanned the guests and their attire. 

"Kim, Dain and Walton, Alice." Dain instructs the guard holding a clipboard and an impressive frown. He looks the girls up and down before nodding and marking their names off the list. Dain drags Alice through the front door and into the dark wooden foyer. A criminally attractive young man grins at them before offering them a glass champagne or wine before pointing towards the hallway. He speaks to Dain in Korean, Alice only catching that the party was being held outside and to let him, personally, know if she required any further assistance. 

"Was he flirting with you?" Alice asks with a smirk.

"Of course not, everyone here knows I'm with Jae. He was just being cute." Dain replies, reaching down and holding Alice's hand to lead her towards the backyard. Past priceless works of arts and sculptors, Alice is led into an almost fairy-tale like setting. Sheer white fabric hung from the low trees, dancing with lights; pastel high and low tables littered the massive backyard. A long table covered head to toe with bright white and pink roses stood the bar with at least ten bartenders waiting patiently for orders. Over their heads hung several suspended flower balls decorated with the same roses and lights. Past the bar was a white tiled dance floor where idols and celebrities were already making use of. 

"Oh my god," Alice whispered, gripping Dain's hand tighter. 

"You should have seen his wedding, my brother is very proud. Come on, let's get a drink and make those handsome bartenders useful." 

After ordering a pink drink, Alice scanned the faces of the crowd to see just how out of the water she really was. 

"Looking for me?" Came a familiar cocky voice. 

"Brian! Where are the others?" Dain asks, taking a sip from her drink. 

"Jae is talking to Eric and Jin, but Wonpil, Namjoon, and Hobi are sitting in the corner over there if you want to join them and I'll show Miss Alice around." He stared pointedly at Dain before smiling at Alice. Dain smirked and nodded before leaning over and kissing Alice's cheek, winking and walking away. 

"I've only met half of those people you just mentioned, you will have to introduce me later." Alice says, curling her lip teasingly. 

"Anything for you, but first let me show you off- I mean around. You look beautiful, by the way." 

Alice blushes, taking another sip and tucking a stray hair out of her face. Brian bites his lip before chuckling and offering his elbow for her to hold while he escorted her away from the bar. Alice is grateful she chose not to wear heels with the majority of the event being held outside, but she notices even the grass has a shine to it. 

"They put a sturdy plastic on the ground so your shoes don't sink into the ground. It's more like plexi-glass I think." Brian whispers, leaning closer to Alice so she could hear him. Alice shivers at the proximity and gulps at the intimate setting. "The backyard is huge and this is only half of it. Ginam hyung spared no expense to designing this. Each corner has a theme; we are in the rose garden right now, there's the dream forest, sky of wonders, and the lounge of the land too." 

He guides her around the yard, pointing out the locations. 

"Huh, I would have pictured some better sounding names but I bet they look amazing." 

"Titles have never been my area of expertise, I admit." A deep voice registered from behind the pair. Alice froze, instantly feeling embarrassment rush over her. How in the world has she managed to insult nearly every artist she needed right off the bat? 

"Hyung!" Brian cheers, releasing Alice's hand and pulling in the tall stocky man. He's taller than Brian, wider shoulders with a bodybuilders frame. He wears a tight, fitted brown suit with the white sleeves fashionably rolled up. His tan skin offsets his striking features of his chiseled jaw and bright white teeth as he grins at his younger friend. He claps a hand around Brian's back and laughs in excitement, pulling back he pulls his dark black eyes towards Alice and holds out his hand.

"Kim Ginam," He introduces proudly. Alice blinks before switching her drink to her non-dominant hand and reaches for his hand with her right and gives him a firm handshake. "Nice handshake, you must be in business. Are you the one to finally make Brian consider settling down?" 

Brian coughs and whines at his elder before pushing him away. "Hyung!" 

"I'm kidding, so who are you?" Ginam asks, winking at Brian. Brian still frowns before taking a large gulp of his pink beverage. 

"My name is Alice Walton, I'm-"

"OF COURSE! I thought you looked familiar!" Ginam exclaims, his face growing in a wide grin. "You live with my baby sister! It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you!" 

Alice pales, but sucks up her courage and puts her professional face on. 

"Good things, I hope?" Alice often responds to situations with humor as that tends to relax most audiences faster rather than a tactically approach. 

"Very good things, my sister speaks most highly of you. She's told me a little about your situation as well and I gotta say, you've got your work cut out for you with that event. I would love to hear more about it in a more professional environment, but for now consider me in your corner and all my guests are your assets. I won't convince anyone to join you without your proper presentation first of course, but I can only speak for myself. If you convince any of my artists to join you, I will fully support them and help where I can; but I won't twist arms until we have a meeting if anyone is less than willing if you know what I mean. Some idols need little persuasion while others are groups you will need to work on. Dain spoke to me about Namjoon's intentions, but I have got to warn you-" 

"Namjoon wasn't the hardest to sway." A tall man with a round face and circular glasses approached sipping from a rocks glass. He wore a plain grey t-shirt under a suit jacket and pants. Alice gulps, taking another large drink from her glass before noticing it was empty. 

Brian notices her reaction, smiling at how adorable she looks when she's nervous. A usually confident woman, looking unsure made his heart race as he looked away from her face towards the drink. He swiftly removes the glass from her hand and leans towards her ears and whispers: "I'll get you a refill, deep breaths. They won't bite,"

Alice glares at the retreating man as he strides back to the bar. Alice gives a nervous smile at the new man and reaches out her hand. 

"Alice Walton," she says using all her strength. SeJin smiles, and shakes her hand just as firmly as Ginam had. 

"Kim SeJin, I've heard a lot about you too. From two different sources actually, both pleading your recent case." 

"Two? Oh that's right! Either way, it's an honor to meet you."

"An honor? To meet him? What about me? I'm more famous than he is!" Ginam exclaims with a huff, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at Alice. She bleaches and shifts her feet before giggling nervously before sighing in defeat. 

"Be nice, Ginam!" SeJin hisses. 

"No it's alright, I'm sorry. To be honest, I was...well I am army, so I've known about him a bit more than you; I'm afraid." She bites her lip as she examines the two older men. Both are glaring at each other before busting out in laughter and smiling at Alice. 

"Manager SeJin strikes again!" Ginam shakes his head before rolling his eyes. "You should know, Miss Alice, I taught him everything he knows." 

"That is a lie! I was in the business way before we met, you just...helped." SeJin replies, taking another drink from his glass. 

"Yes well, either way it's good you've at least heard of him. It might help your case."

"Namjoon told me a bit about your intentions, and then I heard an earful of being helpful from Taehyung so am I correct in assuming you want the group and not just the individual artists?" 

"That was Namjoon's idea, I hadn't even mentioned that or even thought of that as an option to be honest." Alice replies holding her hands up. SeJin nods, tilting his head to the side in thought. 

"It won't be an easy sell, the service changed a few members if I'm being candid. Some want to retire and we've never been a corporation that forces any of our artists to do anything they don't want to. You might be able to convince a few but I'm afraid you will need them all if you want them to have their comeback at your event. If you get everyone on board, we can sit down and work out a contract. We won't be cheap either, so just be prepared. It's been several years since a proper comeback and it's billions for that stage so set your eyes accordingly. I know Namjoon is smitten, but he doesn't get a say in those contracts; that's all me." 

Alice forgets to breathe for a moment before nodding in response. 

"Sorry it took so long, noona. I got you a refill." Brian says holding out her drink. Alice absentmindedly reaches for it and takes a sip. 

"Noona?" Ginam questions with a smirk. 

"She's older and hates when I call her that." Brian jokes with a wink. Ginam and SeJin laugh.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your manners. Good luck Miss Alice, almost all the members are here tonight so give it your best shot. Plus, anyone who is anyone is here and if you can't get SeJin's group, you've got your pick here. There's JYP, let's go say hi SeJin!" Ginam says, waving goodbye with a small bow. 

"Good luck, you will need it." SeJin bows and follows after Ginam. 

Brian turns to his friend and frowns at the worry lines all over her face. Alice bites her lip again, staring at the sky before shaking her head. Brian reaches down and cups her chin softly pulling her attention back towards him.

"Hey, what happened?" 

"Nothing, he just basically said BTS would be impossible to get. I wish I hadn't let Namjoon get my hopes up, I'm a fool." She mumbles, not able to maintain eye contact with the beautiful man in front of her. 

"Hey, nothing is impossible. Look around you, every idol here worked their ass off to get here and everyone said it was impossible yet here we are. If you want to book them that badly, we will make it happen. Let's go make some more rounds and let me introduce you. Try not to say anything about any other artists, I've noticed a pattern with you." 

Alice laughs and nods, blinking away any tears that might have been forming. 

"I didn't get to introduce you last time but this is Seung-hyun and his girlfriend Shannon, she's from the states too." Brian waves at the pair. 

Alice leans forward shaking the hand of her ultimate bias and the gorgeous lady next to him. Seung-hyun wore a black dress shirt covered with patches and fitted blue jeans while the young lady wore a black lace corset top that somehow modestly covered her assets, but flaunted at the same time; paired with tight black jeans. Alice was envious of her courage in wearing something so revealing but tasteful. 

"Oh! Where from?" Shannon asks, tossing her violet and indigo ombre hair back to closer examine Alice. 

"Florida!" Alice replies with a smile. 

"I grew up there! What a small world! What brought you international? Work or pleasure?" Shannon eyes Brian then back to Alice with a smile. Seung-hyun chuckles, running a hand on Shannon's thigh before shaking his head at his girlfriend's question.

"Work, I work for Lotte World actually." 

"That's so cool, I don't think I've ever known anyone who actually works at theme parks." 

"I had a cousin that worked for Everland, I think." Seung-hyun chimes in. Alice nods, the response was quite common that her career was more a novelty than most but thankfully so was being an idol so she held some common ground with that . 

"Noona is working on a big project, you might be interested in hyung! She's doing a pop culture art festival!" Brian brags, wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulder. Alice raises an eyebrow at his action but doesn't shake his arm off. 

"Oh really? Are you running it or just looking to collect?" Seung-hyun asks, drinking from his beer glass. 

"Hosting it. It's going to feature the pride of ROK and as many artists as I can get. It's going to be a weekly theme varying from dance, art, music, acting and culture. Don't worry, I have a lot of people helping me so I give the event pride worthy of Seoul." 

"Sounds interesting," Seung-hyun mumbles into his drink. 

Shannon frowns at her boyfriend before looking back at the dejected American. 

"I'm afraid Seung-hyun doesn't participate in music so much anymore, but he is quite the artist. If our schedules line up, I bet he'd be happy to help." She smiles at Alice. 

"Are you an artist as well?" Alice asks.

"Me? No, not like that. I'm a makeup artist for Ginam's company. I work on dramas mostly, so I might be able to help with the acting week if you want."

"Really? You hardly know me, why are you helping me so much?" Alice asks gently. 

Shannon smiles softly, drinking a sip from her bottle of water. 

"It can't be easy to do what you're doing. I faced a lot of adversity when I got here and I didn't have a lot of help. I want to be the biggest ally I can for anyone going through that. If I hadn't met Rina and Seung-hyun I probably would have gone back home to open my company or something."

"That's amazing and I definitely appreciate all the help I can get."

"If you excuse us, we will be right back!" Brian says, pulling Alice away from the couple towards a set of blue velvet lounge sofas huddled in the corner of a dimly lit section of the backyard. Thin black cloth hung as a canopy over the secluded section. The fabric somehow allowed the piercing sky to become that much more vibrant in contrast. 

"What are you doing?" Alice mutters in confusion. 

"I saw someone you would love to meet,"

"You've been saying that all night Brian! I want to meet everyone to be honest." She mumbles, finishing her drink. 

"Yes well, this will help your case the most. Jimin! Jimin! How the hell are you?" Brian abandons Alice to walk to one of the sofas to lean down and clap the smaller man in a hug. Alice should really be used to him randomly introducing her to all these idols she loves, yet somehow it shocks her every time. 

Park Jimin giggles hugging his friend before grinning at the young man sitting next to him. Ever the fashionable idol, Jimin wore a silk shirt unbuttoned, exposing half his very taught chest (and the subtle hint of his tattoo), and skin tight cut up black jeans. The man sitting next to him, to Alice's surprise is also western, thin, pale with short brown hair and gold wire glasses. He wore a pair of high-waisted acid wash jeans with a tucked in plain white t-shirt and a smile that Alice genuinely thought was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. 

"I'm fantastic, how are you? Who is this gorgeous girl you've brought over? Did you finally get a girlfriend!" 

Brian blushes, shaking his head as he scratches the back of his neck nervously. 

"This is Alice Walton,"

"OH! Namjoon mentioned her! He was right too, she's very pretty! Isn't she, sweetheart?" Jimin asks the man next to him. The man glances at the girl, leaning into Jimin and nods. Jimin rolls his eyes and playfully shoves the guy away to hold his hand out to Alice.

"I think you know who I am but just in case; I'm Park Jimin and this is my amazing boyfriend Kay." 

(To Be Continued)


	21. Cold (21)

"Honey! You can't just say that!" Kay exclaims, cautiously looking over at Alice. 

Alice freezes for a moment, but not for the thought she assumes Kay thinks, she's concerned Jimin will be worried he has to keep up his idol persona while around her and almost instantly starts waving her hands towards him. 

Before she can reply, Brian once again puts an arm around her and smiles. 

"Alice is a deep personal friend to not only myself, but also to Dain and Namjoon. Please feel comfortable around her," he says with ease. 

Jimin, who appears to have zero concern over the issue, reaches over towards his boyfriend and pulls him into his chest. Kay hesitates, eyeing Alice before relaxing into Jimin's embrace. 

"Namjoon told us about you the other day at one of our meetings. It sounds so exciting what you want to do! Do you really want us to have our comeback there?" Jimin asks, running his hands through Kay's hair. 

Brian points to the sofa opposite of the couple and guides himself and Alice towards the seat. Alice sits across from Jimin while Kay was more spread out across from Brian. 

"He brought that up, if nothing else I would love for someone to host. I think the event would be a great new beginning if that's what you are hoping for in your comeback." Alice suggests. 

Brian lifts the empty glass from Alice's hand and retreats once again to the bar for a refill. Alice smiles at the gesture before looking back at the adorable idol. Staring at his gentle features she can clearly see the military service wasn't harsh on him, but she wasn't about to make judgement. 

"I think that's the direction hyung wants to go in and personally, I'm all for helping you out....but I don't know about the others. Who have you talked to?" 

"Namjoon suggested it, my assistant is friends with Taehyung and he's on board, and I haven't asked directly but I'm pretty certain Jungkook would agree as well."

Jimin smirks, running his fingers down Kay's shoulder and arms softly. Kay grins at the girl and chuckles with a nod. 

"You're older, right?" He asks. 

Alice nods, hoping her age wasn't the only reason the maknae would agree. 

"Jungkook is a sucker for people pleasing and he would never say no to a beautiful older woman. Add us performing together for the first time in years and he'd jump at the chance. He wouldn't be the one you should worried about." Jimin says playfully. 

"Oh?" Alice frowns, raising her eyebrows in concern. 

"Did you follow our service? Namjoon said you were army, so I just assumed you'd be aware of our branches and service?" He asks gently. 

"A little, but unfortunately life got in the way and it's hard to pay attention to idols when your world is crashing down around you." Alice replies softly. 

Jimin pauses petting Kay to reach over and place a hand on Alice's knee. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume your world revolved around us- of course it didn't." He mumbles. 

Alice smiles, placing her hand over his and giving it a squeeze before he resumed running his hands over Kay's side. 

"I went into the police service, and all things considered it was relatively easy compared to some. Some didn't get so lucky, it's not my place to tell their story but it's safe to say you will have a harder time getting Jin and Hobi to agree and honestly Yoongi too. He will most likely come around though, he tends to follow the groups lead if we are all invested."

"Sounds like I have more work cut out for me." Alice sighs. 

"Then, of course, you have SeJin to deal with." Kay states softly. 

"SeJin is very protective, and rightfully so. You guys were and are top international talent. If I approached only wanting Namjoon to host I doubt he would be as intimidating; but the whole group? Well, perception is very important and this comeback could further cement your legacy and I understand his hesitation." Alice reasons with a nod. 

Kay chuckles, looking up at his boyfriend. 

"I see why Namjoon and Jungkook are so fond of her, she's precious." He states with a smile. 

"Precious? I'm older than both of you, watch it." Alice playfully narrows her eyes.

"Calm down noona, he was only joking." Jimin says. Alice grins at the angelic laugh he had, sounding a million times better in person than the videos she used to watch. 

"So noona, tell us; which boy are you leaning more towards? Brian hasn't left you out of his sights but I can assure you Namjoon has been looking for you all night. Jungkook too, if he's still here." Jimin asks with a coy smile. Kay curls into Jimin's chest, looking at Alice between Jimin's arms. 

Alice laughs, a deep full body laugh as she parishes the thought of Kim Namjoon looking for her. She couldn't even consider the concept Jeon Jungkook. Now Brian, well that was more realistic. 

"Speak of the devil," Kay announces, leaning up and out of Jimin's embrace. He lifts up and stretch's his back and shoulders against the sofa before standing up and doing the same. 

Alice looks over in the direction Kay nods at and sees not just Brian approaching but also Namjoon. As if the stars heard Jimin's question, it is clear he won't learn the answer right away. 

"Alice! There you are! Are you having fun?" Namjoon asks, his smile revealing his huge enchantingly beautiful dimples. Namjoon wore a black suit jacket over a blue dress shirt with a tie and a very snug looking pair of jeans. 

Flustered, Alice nods and smiles at him. 

"Yes, yes. Jimin was just telling me about his boyfriend Kay." 

Jimin smirked, running his tongue over his lips as he looks back at the girl. She silently pleads with him, hoping her eyes convey enough emotions to let him understand she doesn't want to talk about crushes in their presence. Jimin opens his mouth to spoil the thought, when Kay answers instead. 

"We met a couple years ago, before he went into service. He was dating one of my girlfriends when I first moved here. She knew she was a beard and kept trying to hook us up, but I was too scared. They ended up breaking up and she ended up moving to Spain to be with her family and I stayed. Jimin and I became closer and naturally we started talking, one thing lead to another and here we are." 

Alice touches her heart and smiles. 

"That's romantic and straight from a novel," she says with a smile. 

Jimin pulls Kay close and kisses the side of his cheek. 

"It hasn't always been easy, but he makes it all worth it." He says. 

"I can't imagine being in the spotlight is easy either," Alice replies flipping the hair from her face. 

Namjoon and Brian both look cautiously over at the girl with nervous expressions. If Alice is any sort of afraid of the limelight- their future would be bleak. 

"Relationships are difficult in general, but having the media follow you can be even more stressful. I would say it's something to consider before entering any kind of partnership with a celebrity of sorts. Even being friends with one can get you exposure," Kay says softly. He wants his friends happiness more than anything, but he has wants to make sure she can be prepared for the outcomes. He loves his life with Jimin and the relationship between the members he has, but it's not for the faint of heart. Kay has been with Jimin for three years and he can count on one hand how many partners he's been introduced to from all the members combined. It wasn't that they didn't want love and companionship; it was simply because they were BTS and that carry's weight in many crowds internationally. 

Alice smiles fondly at the couple before stealing a glance at Namjoon. He's nervously looking at his glass before he coughs and twirls his glass with clinking ice. 

"I think that's fair, I believe in full transparency. Never be friends with someone you can't defend or someone who could put you in an uncomfortable situation. It's not just yourself you have to worry about in those settings, it's also a career you have to protect. I look at Dain and Jae and see their happiness, but I wasn't aware he was even an idol when I moved here, let alone someone I followed for years. I don't know if it was intentional for Dain not to mention it, but I know she kept it close to the vest in case it wasn't something I wanted to be involved with. I can imagine her hesitation, just as you were cautious when you met me as well. An outsider can be the most accepting or scariest person to be introduced to. Plus, BTS has never played around with their reputation. I can't begin to understand the pressures of just being one of their public friends." Alice laughs as she sighs into her drink. 

"I consider you a friend," Namjoon says with a smirk. Alice blushes, feeling the blood rush to her face at just the phrase he utters. 

"Me too, I think you are going to have to get used to a lot of famous friends Alice. This event will get you really connected." Brian states, passing her a new drink. Alice nods and smiles brightly at the idol and shakes her head.

"It seems surreal to me still, but I won't let anyone down." 

"There's the spirit!" Jimin exclaims with a wink. Namjoon tosses the rest of his drink back before standing up next to Alice. 

"There's some art pieces Ginam has around here I'd like to show you, if your interested?" He offers, lowering his hand for assistance. Alice stares for a moment, blinking at the rappers beautifully tanned fingers outreached for hers. She grips her glass a bit more before accepting his aid and getting to her feet. She passes Brian a smile, noting the lack of enthusiasm he gives her as he takes a sip from his own glass and nods to her. 

Namjoon slides Alice's hand to his forearm as he escorts her inside the house again. Alice inhales deeply, calming her breathing as she tries to relax her hold on his arm. The last thing she wants to do is scare him away with a firm grip. 

"You know KAWS?" Namjoon asks, leading her up a flight of very regal wooden looking stairs. Alice nods instantly, having been an avid art fan for years and owning several of his open release items. She never made enough to purchase his limited pieces or had a place to put them for that matter, so her collection was small to say the least. 

"I've been a fan for years and I've been working on collecting his art pieces rather than the statues I've had in the past. As I grow older, I find myself staring at things longer and appreciating the talent it takes to create something out of a blank page." Namjoon says, pointing to a few abstract art canvases displayed on the walls of the narrow hallway. 

"Some would say you do the same with lyrics and poetry," Alice notes with a smile. 

Namjoon blushes, the pink reaching his ears as he coughs and adjusts his skinny black tie around his neck. 

"I can say I am known for many things, but I'm afraid poetry is low on that list."

"Well, I disagree but I'm biased." Alice jokes.

Namjoon gulps and chuckles awkwardly before sighing as he turns their direction towards what Alice would guess would be the front of the house. 

"Sorry, I never know how to respond to that statement. It always makes me unnecessarily anxious." He admits, slowing his pace. 

"You're anxious? You're my ultimate bias and I'm casually talking to you like it's no big deal- I'm terrified."

Namjoon smirks, uprooting his dimples again to give a coy smile. 

"Ultimate, huh? I remember you said that last time. That's quite a compliment. I hope I don't disappoint you." 

Alice realizing she gave herself away, blushes and shoves her drink to her lips to prevent any further word vomit to expose herself. 

"Painting in various mediums is a sense of personal expression and I would happily spend my life exploring studios of different paths people walked down. A painter from New York uses oil to represent the anguish of global warming and its results in watercolors. An artist from Seoul might use ink to show that every moment counts, just as a drop on cloth deepens. Someone who can accurately portray their emotions and passions through a physical form have always amazed me." Namjoon mumbles, a striking black and blue ink blot piece catching his attention. 

Alice smiles, her fingers lightly tracing the skin of the idol she still held on too as she admired his expression as he looked upon the art. She notes his eyes focusing on one part only to skim across the giant framed cloth. The little arches above his eyebrows as he blinks his attention back to her with an embarrassing grin. 

"Sorry, I don't get to talk about it often. Thank you for letting me rattle on."

Alice squeezes his arm and shakes her head.

"Literally anytime, I love it. I love art and I love how you describe it so passionately."

"Well that's gross." A deep voice came from behind the pair. Alice jumps slightly at the tone even though Namjoon is quick to reassure her, placing his warm hand over hers. 

A tall slender man peels himself off the couch opposite from where they were standing. His board shoulders instantly gives away his identity to Alice, if it wasn't the striking profile and pure look of disdain he holds at her.

"Hyung? Is this where you've been hiding?" Namjoon mumbles, looking more confused at the state of his eldest band mate rather the look he was giving Alice. 

Kim Seok-jin rolls his large glass, twisting the ice around as he brought it to his lips and stared at the group leader. 

"Have you been looking for me while entertaining?" He asks curtly. 

Alice blinks in confusion at the idol. She frowns before looking at Namjoon for a response. Namjoon's cheeks flare up, not for the usual blush Alice has become use to seeing but a dust of anger underneath his eyes. 

"You were supposed to be with Jimin or Jungkook, why are you by yourself? Sejin hyung said-"

Seok-Jin switches to Korean, reciting what appears to be a very passionate conversation on why he cared so little about what Sejin thought; at least that's what Alice assumes. She's able to catch a few expletives before she slowly removes her hand from Namjoon's arm. This brings his attention back to her. He looks down at her, wide eyed and nostril's flaring. 

"I'm so sorry, would you- oh Jungkook! Alice hasn't seen the full party yet, would you show her around?" Namjoon adds a bit more in Korean before smiling down at Alice. "You look gorgeous tonight, I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy your company further. I'm going to help him home, but don't worry I'll message you when I get home. Have fun, I had a great time walking with you." 

Alice nods, looking over at the aggravated Jin rolling his eyes at the thought of being babysat. Jungkook, appearing around the corner with a few other idols, quickly abandons their presence to assist his leader and elder. Quick to resolve the issue, he greets Alice with a huge grin. Alice, dazed by his brilliant smile, returns an uneasy form of her own. 

"I'm sorry you had to see that, but I'm so glad to run into you. I was hoping Dain would bring you. Oh no, who got you that drink? You never get Ginam hyung's signature drinks, it's all sugar and cheap liquor. Let me get you a real drink." Jungkook removes the glass from Alice's hand and repeats what Namjoon did and places her hand on his arm. 

Alice sighs, wrapping her hand tighter around his forearm before nodding for him to lead the way back to the party and away from the very tense pair they left behind.


	22. Inked Knight (22)

Jeon Jungkook guides Alice through the house, back towards the crowd when he notices Brian waving him down. 

"Hey, Dain and Jae just left- would you like me to stay and take you home?" Brian asks, pointing at the row of cars. Alice looks over at the entrance as sees Dain and Jae retreating into their car, frowning at the couple. 

"I can take you home, it's on the way if you want." Jungkook offers with a wide smile. Alice pulls herself from her glare at the couple disappearing into the night towards the idol whose hand lightly tugs on hers. Alice smiles at Brian before shaking her head. 

"Jungkook told me about the drinks, you owe me a real one. I'll text you to collect soon." Alice winks and applies a bit of pressure to Jungkook's hand to let him know she was choosing his ride assistance. Brian smirks and nods. 

"Don't threaten me with a good time, noona. And don't leave me waiting for too long!" He leans forward to give a gentle kiss on her cheek before waving at Jungkook and heading back towards the party. 

"I didn't park too far but its a bit of a trek. Do you want to wait here while I run and get the car?" Jungkook asks pointing towards the street. 

"I'm not wearing heels, I'm good to walk." Alice points to her Mary Janes. Jungkook nods and directs her towards the entrance. As they make their way, he places the empty glass of Alice's next to the main bar they pass so as to not walk out with it. 

"Did you have fun?" He asks, letting go of her arm to feel his pockets for his keys. 

"I did! I got to meet some awesome people! Jimin's boyfriend is absolutely adorable." Alice notes. Jungkook laughs and smiles broadly as they exit the house. He points down the driveway, and the pair walk down the path. 

"I'm happy you got to meet them, did Namjoon show you around?" 

"A little, but Brian did a great job before that. We spoke with Ginam and Sejin before we ran into T.O.P. and his girlfriend actually."

"I didn't realize he was here, and you met Sejin! Good or bad? Namjoon told me about the comeback idea! I really want to help, I think it'd be a lot of fun!" 

Alice giggles at his excitement, moving her hair out of her face after they reached the entrance of the driveway. Jungkook nods towards the right and they begin that direction. 

"Sejin was cautious and professional and that's really all I could ask for at an informal meeting. He told me its up to me to get everyone on board but warned me it could be difficult to get the group back together. He spoke vaguely about ideas of retirement and hardships so I assume I have my work cut out for me." Alice sighs, biting her lip out of habit. 

Jungkook tilts his head to the side and clicks his tongue, quickly pressing it to the side of his cheek before running it across his lips. He remains silent for a moment as they continue down the sidewalk. He notices a couple in front of them, kissing against a sedan and reaches down towards Alice's back to protectively place his hand on her lower back. Alice smiles at the action, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. Jungkook leaves his hand there but uses his other to point to the black SUV two cars down. He pulls the keys from his pocket that he had forgotten about earlier and clicks the button to unlock the doors. He carefully looks out at the traffic before walking Alice over to the passenger side and opening her door. 

Alice mumbles a thank you, as he shuts the door and jogs to the driver side. Once inside he pushes the button to start the car and pulls up the dashboard GPS, typing in the apartment complex.

"Do you still live in Hannam too?" Alice asks as he pushes the start. Jungkook smirks and looks over at her.

"Wondering if you have easy access to me, noona?" He jokes. Alice feels all the blood she had left rush to her face and she isn't quick enough to respond before he laughs and shakes his head. "I'm just kidding!"

"Everyone is calling me noona!" She exclaims, covering her face. Jungkook slips the car into reverse and eases it out of the parking spot and into the empty street. 

"It's just a sign of respect. I don't have to use it if you don't want to. I just don't want to be in public and get yelled at for not using honorifics." 

"By who? I wouldn't yell at you, I don't know you well enough yet. Also you're using both Korean and English so it would require someone to speak both and care enough to say something." Alice reasons, looking over at the driver. Jungkook nods and shrugs his shoulders. 

"Risky, especially since you will eventually learn Korean." 

"Hopefully!" 

"I'll help," Jungkook offers. 

"Maybe, but I've seen 'learn Korean with BTS' so you'll just assume I know the language already and just speak in Korean." 

Jungkook bursts out in laughter, hitting the steering wheel a few times in excitement. 

"I forgot about that! Was it really that difficult?" 

"To be honest, I only watched the first two and realized it was too hard for me. I need to learn like I'm an idiot or a baby one of the two." 

"It took me a long time to learn English comfortably. It took almost all of my friends who knew the language to speak to me solely in English for me to start getting the hang out of it." 

"Immersion will be my saving grace, I'm forced to learn it in some way. I'm getting better at reading it, but speaking it will be hard." 

"I understand, I will still help if you want." Jungkook looks over at her briefly. 

"I accept all offers of aid." Alice nods with her own smile. She feels her cheeks returning to normal and relaxes into the leather seats a bit more. 

"So how has it been so far? The immersion? How are you enjoying my country?" 

"It's beautiful and more than I could have ever expected. Challenging in some ways, but that's half the fun."

"You must like a challenge if you moved here without learning the language!"

"I feel like I'm being scolded- why?" Alice jokes looking across at her driver. 

Jungkook chuckles and shakes his head. 

"No no, just observation. Were you successful in pressuring other artists?" He asks softly. 

Alice tilts her head to the side and sighs in reservation. 

"Not really. T.O.P's girlfriend offered to help me with some other actors and actresses with her work but I didn't get to branch out and sell myself too much. I'm a bit disappointed actually." 

"I have some artist friends too, they just might not be what you'd be looking for."

Alice smirks, her eyes lingering on the arm he has raised to drive. 

"I accept all forms of art. Except nudity- unfortunately the festival cannot include porn."

"Oh well then I'm out of luck!" Jungkook jokes, giving a wide toothy smile. He loudly giggles and shakes his head in response. 

"Are you talking about ink?" Alice asks after they both stop laughing. Jungkook nods, his expression still joyful from their exchange. 

"Yea, I've got a couple friends who work in the industry who draw too so it wouldn't be like a tattoo thing exactly."

Alice tilts her head to the side and considers. 

"As much as I would love to immediately say yes- I would need to talk to quite a few people first to get approvals. Maybe some introductions would be better and we can go from there. Trust me, I would love nothing more than to meet the people who gave you the infamous tattoos." 

Jungkook's laughs, subconsciously pulling his left hand over his right driving hand and softly rubbing the inked images and letters. 

"I'm not close to all of them as much, in fact I lost contact with most of them while I was in service but I'm still in touch with a few. Are you that interested in my ink?" 

Without even pausing, Alice nods. 

"Very." 

"I'd show you but you'd have to promise not to tell anyone." He smirks, winking at her before turning his attention back to the road. Alice feels her cheeks warm and she coughs to distract from the obvious blush invading her face. 

"I could make no such promises, but I'd be willing to try." 

Jungkook tilts his head back and lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head. 

"It's never even that interesting! I bet your ink is way more special."

Alice laughs and shakes her head. 

"Wouldn't you like to know. Besides I don't have that many people I can't be covered otherwise it would be seen as unprofessional in my line of business" 

Jungkook sighs and nods. 

"That is very unfortunate. My company made me wait for a few years before I could get them but it worked out to where I could and then 2020 happened and I just got the opportunity to fill in more space." 

Alice rolls her eyes and groans. 

"Oh my god can we not talk about 2020. So many things about that year was absolute shit. Just everything sucked about it. So tell me about your artist friends. I know tattoos are kinda...taboo." 

Jungkook tilts his head and bobs his head in agreement.

"It's complicated." He mumbles. Alice, knowing even the topic can be uncomfortable, let the subject die down while he drives in silence. 

A little while later Jungkook is pulling into their complex, shifting the car into park and smiling at her.

"I'm glad you came out tonight. I wish I could have shown you around more." He says.

Alice smiles and nods as she reaches for the door.

"Wait- let me." Jungkook exclaims, fumbling out of the driver side to rush over to open Alice's door. 

She giggles when he huffs and pulls open her side. She nods at the gesture, smoothing her dress down from the wrinkles of the car ride. 

"Did you have fun?" He asks, clicking to lock his car and walk with her to the elevator. 

"I had a great time, thank you for driving me home." 

"When are you free next? I can take you around to meet some of my art friends. Maybe do lunch or something?" He rushes out, pushing the call button for the lift. He looks down at his feet, biting his lip and shoving his hands back into his pockets. 

Alice raises her eyebrows at the suggestion and feels her cheeks grow warm. Surely the international idol did not just ask her out...right? 

"Ah! Well weekends usually but you can always message me to see when our schedules would overlap." 

The elevator door opens and Jungkook nods while holding his hand out to keep the door open while Alice enters. He glides in and presses her floor level, bobbing his head at her response. 

"Oh wait! Here- let me get your info so I can message! I have plans this weekend but I'll check for sometime next weekend. Or maybe I just see if I can grab you for lunch one day?" He ends the sentence with a question, more hesitant than outwardly asking her out. 

Alice pulls her phone from her purse and unlocks it before passing it to the younger man. He swipes his fingers across before inputting his number before switching to the KakaoTalk app and adding a contact there. 

"We mostly use KakaoTalk. Our numbers change so frequently that it's just easier to stay in touch this way. I hope you don't mind, I put both in." He hands back the phone giving Alice a goofy grin with his big round eyes. Alice grins back before nodding and putting her phone away. 

"I think Namjoon said the same. It makes sense. A lot of crazy people out there. Especially for you, I can only imagine. It must be hard." 

"It has its challenges but it comes with the job. I knew what I was signing up for. I didn't expect all of what we got but overall I love everything about it. Especially army, but we talked about that." He goes quiet with a hint of embarrassment. Alice hums and gives him a warm smile. 

"Army is pretty great. Always some bad ones but I've always loved being in army. I would honestly say army is my favorite part about BTS as a whole. I've met some of my best friends through it and even though I wasn't able to pay attention to y'all's career as much in the past few years- my relationships with those I met through y'all have always remained. So thanks...I guess I don't know." Alice giggles realizing how awkward she could be making the situation. Jungkook blushes more and covers his face quickly before the doors open. 

"Ahhh well that's great. And all that ultimately led you here so I'm grateful too. Anyways, I can't wait to take you around and introduce you. My friends will love you and be so happy to help."

"Me too- I can't wait! Thanks again for driving me home. I really appreciate it. Will you message me when you get home safe? I'll worry if not." 

The two reach Alice's door and pause.

"Are you concerned for my safety, noona?" Jungkook asks with a smirk, leaning against the wall. 

"Always." Alice quickly replies. 

Jungkook smiles brightly, exposing his teeth with glee. 

"Then I won't ever make you worry. I'll leave now. Have a good night." He nods with a slight bow and leaves Alice at her door. She watches the idol walk through the elevator and wave as the doors close.


	23. Ramen (23)

A week later and Alice's head is planted firmly on her top of her desk. 

"It's not that bad, stop being so dramatic." Tatsuki says, placing a hot coffee cup next to her. She sighs, lifting her head and cupping the drink. 

"They rejected my proposal for ink and wood work. I didn't even get the chance to give estimates or work out logistics." 

"They all spoke English in the meeting, Alice. Baby steps, that's a huge improvement." 

Alice huffs and sips her liquid caffeine. Tatsuki rolls his eyes and takes the seat opposite of the desk. 

"They rejected it because you didn't have a plan. Talk with Namjoon and Jungkook- get some figures and pictures and try again. Any luck on getting the rest of the group to come around?" 

"No, I haven't spoken to anyone since last week. Namjoon left with Jin and he seemed to be in a state."

"That needs to be your priority. I'll message Seojoon to see about getting some more contacts." 

Alice frowns and opens her desk drawer to grab her phone. Spring was coming up and she is losing time to plan and nail things down. She needs to get the members on board if she wants to knock this event out of the park. 

22 KakaoTalk notifications 

She clicks on the app to see several lines of communication with new messages.

Jungkook: are you available for lunch today? My practice ended early and I figured I'd treat you to ramen if your up for it.

Namjoon: I have some friends visiting. Drinks on Saturday evening to talk art?

The rest of the notifications came from a group chat she was in with friends from back home. Usually the chat consists of the latest theme park up to dates and rarely some random kpop drama occurrences. Alice decides to check that one later after deciding to respond to Jungkook first. 

Alice: yes! in 30 minutes is fine if you can make it. 

Alice switches conversations to reply to Namjoon. 

Alice: I can do Saturday! Let me know a timeframe!

Alice gets a ding of a notification. 

Jungkook: perfect. I'll be there in 20. I'll wait in the parking lot. let me know when you can walk down and I'll meet you out front. You remember my car right? 

Alice: I'll call when I get downstairs and hope for the best. Hope I don't get in a strangers car!

"You better bring me back lunch if you are going out." Tatsuki states with a raised eyebrow. 

"You gonna get in contact with Seojoon?" Alice counters looking up from her phone. 

Tatsuki coughs and rolls his eyes as he gets up to walk to his desk and grab his phone. 

Jungkook: Text me on your way down and I'll meet you in the lobby. Stranger danger. 

Alice chuckles at the response before placing her phone face down on the desk. She considers the implications of her going out with Jungkook. She can't call it a date, he didn't so that would be overreacting. She considers Brian and the fact he's been flirting with her since day one and then there's Namjoon to think about. He never outright flirt with her but it was subtle. Choosing to ignore the other men in her life at present- she grabs her little make up bag and heads to the closest mirror to inspect herself real quick. 

Twenty minutes later and she's walking towards the elevator and messaging the idol she was on her way. She waits for the slow decent to the lobby and begins to wonder if having him meet in the lobby was such a good idea. She recalls the incident with the secretary that Brian had and Alice immediately knows she will recognize Jungkook if he's not subtle. She bites her lip and decides to warn the man while her lift comes to a stop on a random level. She shuffles to the side and pulls her phone out again. 

Alice: stand off to the side- our administration isn't used to idols appearing at random

Alice hears the ding from the elevator as it stops on the ground floor. Nervously, she looks up and exits towards the lobby. She hears quiet chatter but then a small gasp and a squeal. Closing her eyes and sighing- she pats her head and frowns at the sheer look of panic the young man has. He's wearing dark jeans and a baggy black sweatshirt, but without a cap or mask he is clearly recognizable. 

In an instant his eyes lock with hers and sends a silent plea. He quickly replaces his fear with a calm expression and holds his hands out to the assistant. She whimpers as his hands touch hers and she becomes silent. Jungkook speaks soft Korean with the secretary, looping his hands with her in a soothing manner. Alice quickly notes how the assistant is crying and nodding as Jungkook bows, grips her hands and bows again as he releases them. He gives her a deep bow and waves as he makes eye contact with Alice before heading back towards the garage entrance. 

The secretary screams, waving her hands at the idol as she sobs more. She looks around wildly before noticing Alice trying to make a swift getaway. 

"DO YOU KNOW PARK JIMIN TOO!?!? PLEASE MAKE HIM COME HERE!" She yells at Alice with wide eyes. Alice doesn't pause or acknowledge the comment as she exits the lobby into the parking lot. Jungkook is leaning against the door with his hands covering his face. Alice catches how his tattooed fingers brush against his lips as he lowers them to reveal his vision. He chuckles slightly before shaking his head. 

"Noona! A little warning next time!" He scolds, giving a playful glare. Alice holds her hands up in surrender. 

"I tried to text but I guess you didn't-"

*Pah-po*

"Get it." Alice finish's, hanging her head in shame. Jungkook rolls his eyes and reaches for his phone, clearing the notification and switching his sound off. 

"I guess you're excused. Come on, let me treat you to a meal." 

************************

"So how did your first proposal go?" Jungkook asks as he sips his water. 

"Terrible. They rejected the ink idea. I was hoping to ask you for some quotes and maybe some pictures so I can try again."

Jungkook looks stunned for a moment before nodding. 

"Of course, but why if they rejected it?" 

"They rejected it because I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. Think of it like a song you pitch. It takes many drafts to get an approval to move forward." 

"Noona, you don't know anything about the music industry do you?" Jungkook laughs.

"I stick to business and the corporate side of things so no, not really." 

A moment later and the waitress is sitting down giant bowls of noodles and the two beers they had ordered. Alice inhales the savory aroma and grins at her dish. She reaches over at the wooden box and pulls out the chopsticks and spoon so she can dig in. 

"Have you always been in business?" He asks, reaching to grab napkins and sharing with her. Alice shakes her head. 

"On varies scales. I moved into the corporate side of things rather recently, four years ago. I always had a business mind though, or so I call it. What about you? You used to be really into the background work of filming right?" 

"Hmm, camera work and editing. It's time consuming so my skills mostly varied from my circumstances. It's been awhile though." 

Alice sips her beer. 

"I can't imagine you had time for anything really. I bet relationships were really difficult. I can only imagine, given how protected Kay was of Jimin and their relationship." 

Jungkook takes a huge bite of noodles and nods, slurping a lone noodle into his mouth. 

"It wasn't easy. Relationships take a lot of work and your partner has to know your limitations as a couple. Can't be seen too publicly, can't have a bad background that could ruin the image, can't express themselves too vocally. I always felt like I was asking someone to give their life away when I asked someone out- so I kept that list to a minimum." 

"I'm glad to hear you dated though, going with army's logic they would have assumed you were too busy for a relationship and I'm glad that wasn't the case." 

Jungkook gives a soft laugh, taking a large gulp of his beer. He tilted his head to the side and sighed with a small tick. 

"I always liked those rumors. It kept our dating on a lower profile."

"Did you date often?" Alice sly asks. 

Jungkook raises an eyebrow and smirks, pausing in his bite. His lips curl up and he gives a toothy smile. 

"Always so interested in me. That's ok, I welcome it noona." He takes his bite and gives a small wink. "It's not proper to talk about dating histories though." He says mid-chew. 

"Sorry! The army in me just kinda came out." 

"You are having lunch with Jeon Jungkook of Busan, South Korea not Jungkook of BTS. I will answer your question though, if you answer mine." Jungkook gives a lopsided smile.

Alice takes another large gulp and nods. 

"Dain told us your were divorced, you never mentioned. Was it a toxic environment?" 

The look he gives Alice, warms her heart. His eyes are big and round, staring at her with wide concern. 

"No no, it wasn't a bad situation. I was lucky he was nothing like Dain's ex. We just grew apart and ultimately he couldn't handle me wanting a career." 

Jungkook furrows his eyebrow, unclenching his cheeks and giving a smile. 

"My ex wanted to get married." He mumbles, his eating slowing as he tells his story. "We we're together for three years, but I broke up with her before I enlisted. She was a foreigner teaching English and her visa was up so she had to return home. I was enlisting so it only seemed fair to us both to end it there. I loved her...I still do but after I was released I got back in contact. I was hoping she was married or living a better life. I didn't expect her to be waiting for me. I didn't mind if we were picking back up, but she wanted to settle down and have kids and move to Korea right away. I couldn't do that. Marriage was never what I wanted anyway, but I also didn't want her waiting for me. I could see it happen in the future, but I'm still young and wouldn't want to get married until I was older. It seemed cruel even to me to have to end things over a phone call but I knew if I saw her again in person during that time I would have crumbled. I needed to be fair to us both. Thankfully, about six months after that I heard from a mutual friend she is dating again and found someone new." 

"Wow." Alice couldn't finish her bite and settles her chop sticks off the side for a moment to process everything. She hadn't expected him to be so honest but she is grateful.

"Anyways. That was nine months ago and I'm enjoying the single post service life." He shakes his head and gathers a big bite and chumps down. Alice nods knowing that was all he was going to talk about, so she moves on. 

"As long as you are happy! How's your ramen? Wait I messed that up. It's pronounced...la-myun-right? Did I get it?" She questions.

Jungkook claps his hands together and grins before giving his notorious laugh Alice had only heard on videos before. She feels her cheeks warm as she hears his infectious laughter. 

"You did it! That was so good! Well done!" He exclaims. 

"You didn't answer!"

"Let me be proud of you for the moment! I will stop on the way back to treat you to dessert!" 

"It was one word, Jungkook! What's gonna happen when I learn Korean properly?" Alice asks with a smirk. 

"My wallet will be empty but my pride will be full!"

Alice rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asks. 

Jungkook tilts his head to the side, takes a deep breath and smiles. 

"Let me take you out more. I'll show you the best hidden spots. Are you available Saturday?"

Alice bites her lip and coughs for a moment before shaking her head. 

"I'm meeting with Namjoon to talk about more artists. But I won't complain about learning more secluded locations! I'm away down for a good hole in the wall!"

"A what?" Jungkook asks with a frown. "Noona I wouldn't take you anywhere unsafe."

Alice shakes her hands.

"No no. It's an expression, means a hidden gem. A hole in the wall is a place that's not very common but very good. Like a diamond in the rough- it's a kind of metaphor." 

"Ah! English can be very confusing sometimes, but I understand. Anyways. My ramen is good- would you like to try?" He piles a decent amount of noodles and cradles it with a spoon of sauce and outreaches it to her. Alice nods and leans forward to take the bite. 

She ignores the thought of secondhand kissing his by sharing utensils and chews the different vegetables and beef he had in his. 

She hums in excitement and nods at the taste. 

"That's really good! Thank you! Here try mine!" She offers her utensils, which he eagerly accepts and watches him expertly take a large bite and swig of the broth. He slurps and cleans his face, nodding in agreement. 

"The shrimp here is so good. Good choice!" He says patting the juices away from his lips with his napkin. 

"So about these pictures I need."


	24. Don’t Embarrass Me

"Did you bring me back ramen? I won't forgive you if you made me work during lunch hour and didn't bring me food!" Tatsuki questions as soon as Alice walks in. 

She silently passes over a black bag and rolls her eyes. 

His eyes light up and he greedily opens the bag to find the container of ramen. He pinches the lid open and bites back a moan of excitement noticing the translucent red and yellow bubble floating on top. 

"You got me spicy! Oh my god you do listen! Thanks boss!" He exclaims, clapping his hands together. He reaches over to his desk and pulls out a pair of chopsticks and begins to sanitize them before dipping them in the broth to taste. "Mmmmmm he took you to a fancy place didn't he? Wait do I owe him a meal now or did you pay? You're supposed to pay for me boss, you're older!" 

Alice reaches over to try and close the container before Tatsuki realizes what she's doing and pouts at her. 

"I called Seojoon- don't be mean! He's gonna come by in an hour to talk with you on some ideas he has. He's in so many movies coming up, he wants to set everything in as much stone as he can before he goes overseas to shoot. Please don't embarrass me." Tatsuki digs into his noodles with a happy grin. 

"I wouldn't dream of that. I just need to forget all the dramas and movies I've seen him in so I can be less nervous." 

Tatsuki pauses mid bite and grins at her. 

"Hold up. You literally just had lunch with an award winning international pop star and you are worried about little old Seojoon!? Please don't tell him that- his ego can only contain so much." 

"He's been to the Oscar's! He's won several! He's a huge movie star, Tatsuki! And he's older! Do you know how hard it is to find celebrities who are older than me nowadays?"

Tatsuki laughs into his bowl as he slurps a chopstick stack full of noodles. 

"Have a lot of Oppa fantasies do you?" 

Alice glares and rolls her eyes and walks towards her desk. She clicks her mouse to bring her computer out of sleep mode before settling in her chair. She pulls her cell phone from her bag and shoves the purse into her bottom drawer. She notices more notifications on her phone. 

Namjoon: perfect. I'm not sure on the time yet but I'll let you know before Saturday! 

Alice: sounds like a plan!

As she's going to set her phone back down it vibrates twice. 

Ultimate Bias: hey. I have a contract one of my dancer friends used last year while working an event. I thought I could run by and show you for an example of what to build for other entertainment. I'll bring you coffee too!

Alice smiles at her phone and sees the other message is from Jungkook telling her to find time for him again soon. She smirks and shakes her head before replying to Brian. 

Alice: Contracts are for my legal department to build but I'll gladly pass it along for a matcha tea latte 😇

Ultimate Bias: hey this was to help you not serve you 

Alice: 🥺

Ultimate Bias: ...fine. Give me 30 minutes 

Alice looks over at her assistant. 

"Did you want a coffee or a latte?"

"Don't tell me lover boy is coming back already? What the hell did you give him? A love potion?" Tatsuki asks, bringing the bowl to his lips to drink some of the broth. 

"No it's Brian, you jerk. He's coming by with some sample contracts we could use."

"We don't need sample contracts. We are a multimillion dollar corporation with decades of entertainment experience. Not to mention that's legal's area of business, we would never be involved in actually writing them. I mean, we would be it if it was for BTS but not dancers or artists." 

"I am aware of that, thank you. But he made the effort and I don't want to make him feel bad. So do you want a coffee or not?"

"Of course I want a coffee, I just don't think he needs to make shit up to visit."

"I'll let him know you gave him permission to visit freely." Alice smirks at her phone. 

A few moments later and Tatsuki is exiting the office to recycle his empty containers and wash his chopsticks when his work phone rings. Alice rolls her eyes at her assistant ignoring it as he leaves the room and walks over to the phone herself. 

"This is Alice." 

"Oh my god! I am so sorry! I must have called the wrong desk!" Came the voice of their eager assistant from the lobby. It hits Alice at this moment, she never actually knew the girl's name. 

Feeling embarrassed by that fact, she tries to quickly ease the girl's anxiety. 

"No no, you're ok! My assistant walked away and I was close to the phone." 

"Ah! I'm still so sorry. I wouldn't have called over something so trivial as this if I had known you would answer." The girl mumbles. 

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Alice sees the opportunity and goes for it. 

"Yura! My name is Yura!" She quickly explains. 

"Yura, was there a reason for you to call Tatsuki? Do you need him to call you back?" 

"No no no, I have a guest here who needs authorization to access your floor. Young K! He's from Day6! He visited here before!" 

"Yes, Brian. Brian has my permission to come up. He's here for a meeting, please give him a pass to keep." 

Alice can hear the hesitation in Yura's lack of immediate response. 

"We usually require an escort for visitors." She says softly, almost as if she was afraid of Alice getting angry. 

"If I go down to escort him, can he have a pass and not require an escort in the future?" 

"Please have Tatsuki send me the paperwork and I'll arrange it ma'am." Yura replies. 

Tatsuki walks back into the office to see Alice still on the phone and looks at her in alarm. 

"Will do. I will be down in a moment." Alice adds before hanging up. Tatsuki laughs nervously. 

"What was that about ma'am?" He asks.

"Please arrange it so Brian and Jungkook don't require escorts every time they visit. I'm going down to collect Brian now but it would have been easier had you mentioned that before I asked him to come here." 

Tatsuki gives a sly smile and nods. 

"Jungkook too, huh? What about Namjoon or Wonpil or just both bands?" He says with a smirk. 

Alice gives a mock glare, grabbing her keycards. 

"I will have your ass deported." She mumbles. 

"You couldn't survive without me and you know it." 

"It's a good thing you're pretty!" She responds as she heads towards the elevator. 

A quick ride down and she reaches the lobby.   
She hears Brian being as charming as ever with Yura and smiles knowing it wasn't that long ago that the girl was fangirling over Jungkook only to have another idol show up at her desk. 

Alice coughs slightly, gathering the attention of the two. Brian bows deeply at the girl before collecting the drinks on the counter and heading to Alice. His black facial covering was pulled below his chin as he greeted Alice with a grin. He greets her with a kiss on the cheek and a sideways hug as he juggles the tray of drinks in his hand. 

"One matcha tea latte for the boss lady," he says, pulling the drink from the tray. "Why didn't you tell me I needed an escort? I didn't mean to make you walk all the way down for me!"

Alice takes the beverage and smiles. 

"It's no problem. You went through the trouble of bringing it so I thought it was the least I could do. Thank you for this and for Tatsuki's!" 

Brian nods and gives a warm grin. 

"Did you eat already?" He asks as they enter the elevator. 

"I did! Jungkook actually came by to drag me out. I wish I would have known you were available- I would have invited you." 

Brian bobs his head and tilts it to the side in response.

"No it's ok! I'm glad you got together! He's a good guy!" 

Brian states but feels a pull in his chest. He isn't too excited. The younger boy has already worked his way into her heart, but he feels confident he still has a solid chance. Brian feels a bit superior in his English skills, knowing the language barrier wouldn't be as drastic even with all of Jungkook's improvements. Brian knew that while in service the 97-liner studied and used his spare time to perfect other languages but mostly English. Brian always admired that Jungkook took such enthusiasm in connecting with international fans. 

"He's a good kid, I always thought it was a joke when people compared him to a bunny or a dog but they were on point. He's very kind and a sweetheart." Alice notes as she takes a sip from her tea. "This is done perfectly, is this from that place you took me?"

"Of course not this is something new, Noona! I must have you try all the best places, one stop at a time. Also he's not that much younger than me. Am I a child to you?" 

Alice laughs as the lift comes to a stop at her floor. She looks over at him as she guides him towards her office. 

"No, but that's different. He's significantly younger than me and sometimes it's hard not to notice." 

Feeling a boost of confidence, Brian smiles and follows behind her. Alice leads him into her office and stops at Tatsuki's desk. The man looks up from his phone and notices the company and immediately stands up, holding his hand out. 

"My name is Tatsuki. I'm Alice's right and left hand man here. I've heard a lot about you."

Brian looks shocked and glances at Alice with a bigger grin.

"Oh have you? Well it's a pleasure meeting you too. I'm grateful you look out for her here." Brian shakes his hand and passes him the coffee from the tray he was holding. Tatsuki holds his hand out to take the tray and bows. 

"I'll toss this. Do you need anything?" He asks, sitting the coffee on his desk. Brian shakes his head. 

"No, thank you."

"Miss, Seojoon said he was on his way now. He'll be here in 10 minutes if that's acceptable." 

Alice nods and notices how Brian gives her an interested look. She waves towards the empty seat across from her desk and takes the one behind it. 

"You're just getting all the visitors today, aren't you?" He questions with a smirk.

"I've got less than three months to nail down this plan, I have to start cementing artists and entertainment now. Seojoon is going to be a huge help. So tell me about these contracts you wanted me to see."


End file.
